玻利维亚曾经强大的天然气产业已大幅萎缩，以至于在作为该地区主要生产国和出口国数十年后，该国即将开始进口这种燃料。
Bolivia’s once-mighty natural gas industry has shriveled so dramatically that the country is set to begin importing the fuel after decades as one of the region’s major producers and exporters.
总统罗德里戈·帕斯（Rodrigo Paz）领导的政府本周发布了一项法令，允许个人和公司进口天然气和液化天然气用于自用和发电，此举旨在防止短缺。
The government of President Rodrigo Paz issued a decree this week allowing individuals and companies to import natural gas and liquefied natural gas for their own consumption and power generation, in a move aimed at preventing shortages.
社会主义领导人埃沃·莫拉莱斯（Evo Morales）二十年前将雷普索尔（Repsol SA）、道达尔能源（TotalEnergies SE）和巴西石油公司（Petroleo Brasileiro SA）运营的气田和炼厂国有化。当时国际油气价格飙升，2005年至2014年的天然气繁荣帮助资助了慷慨的社会项目。
Socialist leader Evo Morales nationalized gas fields and refineries run by Repsol SA, TotalEnergies SE and Petroleo Brasileiro SA two decades ago. International oil and gas prices were soaring, and the 2005-2014 natural gas bonanza helped fund generous social programs.
但勘探投资未能跟上步伐，导致储量减少，出口量较2014年峰值下降了一半多。
But investment in exploration failed to keep pace, so reserves dwindled and exports have fallen by more than half from their 2014 peak.
尽管进口燃料目前尚不能转售给第三方，但这一决定标志着与以往制度的急剧背离，过去进口主要由国有的玻利维亚国家石油公司（YPFB）垄断。
Although the imported fuel cannot yet be sold to third parties, the decision marks a sharp break from a system in which imports were largely reserved for state-owned YPFB.
碳氢工业化副部长塔蒂亚娜·赫努齐奥（Tatiana Genuzio）周三对私营广播电台Unitel表示，与其他燃料一样，玻利维亚的天然气受到严重补贴，国际价格几乎是国内价格的10倍。帕斯政府致力于取消补贴，使能源价格与市场水平接轨，以减少财政赤字并稳定经济。政府表示，这些变革将伴随现金转移支付和其他惠及最弱势群体的福利一同实施。
Like other fuels, natural gas is heavily subsidized in Bolivia, with international prices nearly 10 times higher than domestic prices, Deputy Minister of Hydrocarbons Industrialization Tatiana Genuzio told private broadcaster Unitel on Wednesday. Paz’s government is committed to ending subsidies and aligning energy prices with market levels to reduce the fiscal deficit and stabilize the economy. The changes will be implemented alongside cash transfers and other benefits for the most vulnerable sectors, the government has said.
玻利维亚于1990年代开始向巴西出口天然气，当时的总统哈伊梅·帕斯·萨莫拉（Jaime Paz Zamora，现任总统之父）于1993年与巴西签署了第一份合同。2006年，玻利维亚与阿根廷签署天然气出口合同，该合同于2024年因国内产量下降而终止。
Bolivia began exporting natural gas to Brazil in the 1990s, after then-President Jaime Paz Zamora, the father of the current president, signed the first contract with the country in 1993. In 2006, Bolivia signed a gas export contract with Argentina, which ended in 2024 as domestic production declined.
Genuzio 表示，政府预计到 2029 年天然气产量将无法满足国内需求。官员们正在考虑多种方案以缓冲经济影响，包括市场自由化、扩大可再生能源以及推动一项有利于投资者的碳氢化合物法案，预计该法案将于下月提交国会。
The government expects gas production to fall short of domestic demand by 2029, Genuzio said. Officials are considering several options to soften the economic impact, including liberalizing the market, expanding renewable energy and promoting an investor-friendly hydrocarbons bill that is expected to be presented to Congress next month.