March 17 (Reuters) – Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz said on Tuesday that his country wanted to restart a relationship with Brazilian state oil firm Petrobras (PETR3.SA), opens new tab under new, clearer energy regulations.
Paz said his government was working to quickly update the regulations to make them fair for Bolivia and foreign investors, and that its proposed terms had been well received by both Petrobras and the Brazilian government.
Petrobras halted investments in the country in 2006 after then-President Evo Morales nationalized the sector. While there were later negotiations and compensation payments doled out to the oil firm, its operations in Bolivia remain suspended.
“In the case of Petrobras, its in our interest, not just to have such a successful business in Bolivia, but we want to restart a relationship as important as this one,” Paz told journalists in Sao Paulo at a business forum.
Paz’s government is readying the overhauls of its oil and gas law and mining law to lure back foreign capital to the South American nation after output lagged over the past decade under leftist oversight.
The oil and gas reform is meant to entince firms into exploration through a more flexible tax and royalty system and new contract models, Energy Minister Mauricio Medinaceli told Reuters in January.
Petrobras CEO Magda Chambriard has offered her full support to Bolivia, “both logistically and in terms of investment,” Medinaceli said in a video message on Tuesday.
MINING PUSH
Bolivia holds vast reserves of lithium, key in the clean energy transition, though they largely remain untapped due to lack of certainty from investors.
Paz said that Bolivia wanted to ensure “clear rules, legal security, investment stability and regulations for each of our sectors,” including mining for lithium, evaporites and other resources.
“Brazil or any other nation can come to Bolivia,” he added.
Brazil Energy Insight 
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