MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Relief for Repsol-YPF Bolivian project.

Sunday's referendum in Bolivia which opened the way for the country's export of natural gas has come as a relief to Repsol-YPF, one of several corporations involved in a massive 6 billion US dollars ambitious plan to commercialize the country's vast hydrocarbon resources.

Pacific LNG as the plan is known, and which also involves British Gas and Pan American Energy, includes the construction of a gas liquefying plant in the Pacific coast, either Chile or Bolivia, from where to export Bolivian gas to United States and Mexico beginning 2009.

The whole plan risked collapsing during the last quarter of 2003 when massive violent protests against the country's energy policy left dozens of people dead and injured forcing the ousting of former elected president Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada, who was succeeded by Carlos Mesa on condition he called a referendum on the very sensitive issue.

Market analysts consider the Sunday referendum results "as a relief for companies with investment in the region,?even when the whole scenario is still complicated".

The referendum also confirmed a stronger participation of the Bolivian government in the oil industry, including reforming the current 1996 legislation and trebling hydrocarbons export taxes to almost 50%.

Repsol-YPF is currently highly involved in exporting Bolivian natural gas to Brazil, but even more important Bolivia has become a strategic player in the Spanish company's long term exploration and production policy which should also help reduce its dependency from reserves in Argentina.

Bolivians voters also supported the government's proposal to use natural gas as a bargaining chip to negotiate with Chile an access to the Pacific Ocean.

Bolivia is landlocked and needs to build a gas pipeline either through Chilean or Peruvian territory, where the liquefying plant would be established. Repsol-YPF contracted vessels would then transport the liquid fuel to a plant in Mexico for re-gasifying.

Energy analysts agree the Chilean option is much cheaper and more practical but faces the sensitive political issue of sovereignty since the Bolivians lost their Pacific coastline in 1879 following a war with Chile and the pipeline would have to cross precisely through the disputed territory.