Bolivia nationalizes natural gas industry

[Arrian]

Originally posted by DanS
Also, the Chile deal was scuttled based on nationalist feelings. I'm more than a little skeptical that Bolivia is acting rationally or practically.

Yeah, I remember that. It seemed like a classic cut off your nose to spite your face move. The pipeline would've increased their nat. gas profits which in turn would be taxed, increasing gov't revenue... but no, Chile bad, no pipeline for you!

Chilean President over at MZO had a good series of posts on the issue when the pipeline got nixxed.

-Arrian

[MOBIUS]

Originally posted by Flubber

Its not about customers-- its about whether the people that have the skill sets to extract petroleum efficiently (ie the big oil companies) will be assed to invest there. The big oil companies don't "need" oil, they need to make money and places where they invite you in to invest and then send soldiers to take over, are not exactly hospitable places to invest.

That all depends on whether the oil companies want to walk away from ALL their profits and sustain a 100% loss - which I soooooo very much doubt...

So, Bolivia has loads of proven reserves it can already tap at a greatly increased profit margin, and as the demand for HCs gets greater and greater someone will come in and prospect for more in the future if they feel they can get a profit from it - after all, their is no honour among capitalists...

So yes, Bolivia or anyone else will be able to SELL their hydrocarbons . . . Its just that they will be a whole lot worse at finding and producing them.

Big deal. Indeed if it delays future exploitation, Bolivia could be sitting on a potential HC revenue bonanza when the HC companies eventually come a-knocking as they surely will...

Next Morales should kick reverse the water privatisation.

[Sandman]

Could someone explain why Bolvia can't just hire technical experts to develop their hydrocarbons, as opposed to being utterly dependent on big business?

[KrazyHorse]

Firstly, Bolivia needs capital to develop their hydrocarbons. Bolivia is not rich enough to pay for the development itself.

Secondly, a large amount of the technical expertise is locked up inside big businesses, and even were it not there are organisational difficulties associated with creating a skilled workforce by mass hiring in a short amount of time.

[MOBIUS]

Originally posted by KrazyHorse
Firstly, Bolivia needs capital to develop their hydrocarbons. Bolivia is not rich enough to pay for the development itself.

Firstly, Bolivia has just had big business develop their HCs for them in a delicious fait accompli, therefore acquiring the revenue stream required for any future development.

Secondly, a large amount of the technical expertise is locked up inside big businesses, and even were it not there are organisational difficulties associated with creating a skilled workforce by mass hiring in a short amount of time.

Secondly, with the advances of tech these days you don't need 'big business' anymore - there's tons of minnows out there that feed on the scraps that 'big business' can't be bothered with. Cairn Energy has been particularly successful in that field recently, for example.

I'm not professing to knowing everything about the subject, which is why I haven't jumped in feet first totally supporting what Morales has done yet, but I'm not yet seeing any cogent arguments from the opposition...

[Ecthy]

This has many levels.

What about MD for one?

[Odin]

Originally posted by KrazyHorse
Firstly, Bolivia needs capital to develop their hydrocarbons. Bolivia is not rich enough to pay for the development itself.

Secondly, a large amount of the technical expertise is locked up inside big businesses, and even were it not there are organisational difficulties associated with creating a skilled workforce by mass hiring in a short amount of time.

In other words, the system is rigged to force poor countries to be the *****s of Western corporation if they want investment. You can try to tax the investing companies, but once they get thier foot in the door they end up with way too much influence over domestic politics, so your f*cked anyway.

[Flubber]

Originally posted by MOBIUS


That all depends on whether the oil companies want to walk away from ALL their profits and sustain a 100% loss - which I soooooo very much doubt...

No they will try to extract what they can but on the flip side, this is becoming an increasingly popular thing to do-- I don't think that it is necessarily wrong for an oil company to to send the message that they can play hardball too. In fact they might want to start sending that message . .


How do you send such a message? well from what I am reading , major companies in FRance, Brazil, Spain and the USA are getting screwed. Do you think those companies and countries could, combined cause some hurt to Bolivia?

After all if you screw with an oil comapny its probably the French teachers union that that is among the shareholders and losing money

[Flubber]

Originally posted by Sandman
Could someone explain why Bolvia can't just hire technical experts to develop their hydrocarbons, as opposed to being utterly dependent on big business?

To some extent they can hire such experts but a LOT of that expertise is already tied up in big oil, particularly in the companies they are screwing. A geophysicist that has never worked Bolivia may have the requisist skills but it might take them several months to get up to speed on how the basin works-- Ditto for the engineers, geologists etc.

[Flubber]

Originally posted by MOBIUS


Firstly, Bolivia has just had big business develop their HCs for them in a delicious fait accompli, therefore acquiring the revenue stream required for any future development.

If I were the government of the nations whose oil companies got screwed, I would be thinking of nationalizing any Bolivian asset I could find. THis is theft, nothing less

[Flubber]

Originally posted by MOBIUS




Secondly, with the advances of tech these days you don't need 'big business' anymore - there's tons of minnows out there that feed on the scraps that 'big business' can't be bothered with. Cairn Energy has been particularly successful in that field recently, for example.

True there are lots of businesses out there but the "minnow" will assume that if you don't mind stealing from a giant, you won't hesitate stealing from a dwarf. For a minnow to invest might involve risking their entire company on the bet that the goevernment won't decide to seize whatever you bring in

[MOBIUS]

Originally posted by Flubber
THis is theft, nothing less

You mean the Bolivian government is using their own tactics against them?

[Flubber]

Originally posted by MOBIUS


You mean the Bolivian government is using their own tactics against them?

Its awful paternalistic to assume that previous negotiated deals are some how theft by the oil comapnies

[Barnabas]

Originally posted by Flubber


If I were the government of the nations whose oil companies got screwed, I would be thinking of nationalizing any Bolivian asset I could find. THis is theft, nothing less

If you find "any bolivian asset" then let me know.

[Flubber]

Originally posted by Brachy-Pride




If you find "any bolivian asset" then let me know.

well if they get paid for , I don't know, oil and gas on any market outside their own borders, it seems fair ball for other governments to seize that.