YPFB acknowledged in February that destabilized gasoline stemmed from inherited problems, identifying lead and manganese contamination in storage facilities. The company subsequently established a compensation system for vehicle damage caused by substandard fuel. Paz repeatedly characterized the quality issues as sabotage by internal mafias within the state enterprise. Daroca warned Bolivia approaches a threshold requiring natural gas imports as production declines accelerate beyond projections, threatening not only international export contracts but domestic industrial supply and thermoelectric generation capacity.
Former Hydrocarbons Minister Álvaro Ríos stated YPFB must downsize and concentrate on domestic fuel supply while divesting peripheral business units generating losses. Ríos characterized the company as unmanageable in current conditions, describing an organization where political power predominates and operations have reduced to importing fuel and transporting minimal gas volumes. A Gas Energy Latin America report directed by Ríos projects accumulated losses exceeding $3.19 billion, with potential 2025 losses approaching $2.3 billion as the company maintains monopolistic control over the entire hydrocarbon value chain from exploration through commercialization.
Energy analyst Raúl Velásquez from Jubileo Foundation noted YPFB experienced 16 interim presidents over 20 years, with current operations suffering from duplicated functions across subsidiary companies. Velásquez emphasized solutions extend beyond leadership changes, requiring parliamentary appointment processes, institutional reform programs, and depoliticization of the board to enable managerial decision-making. The GELA analysis forecasts catastrophic production declines by 2035, with liquids output falling from 61,000 barrels daily in 2015 to 8,000 barrels, and natural gas dropping from 60 million cubic meters daily to 9 million, rendering refinery utilization at 12 percent and key pipeline infrastructure completely idle.
This article was curated and published as part of our South American energy market coverage.
