Bolivia’s YPFB and Brazil’s Petrobas considering building new fertilizer plant

The Bolivian state-owned fertilizer enterprise YPFB announced on Wednesday that it has been holding talks with the Brazilian oil giant Petrobras to explore the possibility of building a urea and ammonia factory on the Bolivian side of the countries’ shared border.

YPFB said that the facility, which would be located in Puerto Quijarro, would cost approximately $2.5bn and produce 4,200 tonnes of fertilizer per day. It added that the two companies discussed the proposal at a meeting earlier in the month, with representatives of state-run Petrobras expressing their interest in investing in the plant.

YPFB noted in its press release that Brazil purchases 80% of Bolivia’s fertilizer output – and is currently seeking to diversify its supply chain so as to mitigate the risk posed by global disruptions.

Petrobras, for its part, said on Thursday that the two companies are yet to reach a deal, according to reporting from the Reuters news agency.