27Feb09

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Letter to the Minister for Hydrocarbon and Energy to agree a meeting date to and discuss the outstanding issues.

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Entre Ríos, 27 February 2009

For the attention of :
The Minister for Hydrocarbon and Energy
Edificio Palacio de Comunicaciones
Av. Mcal. Santa Cruz Esq. Oruro - Piso 13
D. Oscar Coca
La Paz

Dear Sir,

We have decided to contact you with reference to a meeting with the Deputy Minister for Energy Development, Mr Misael Gemio Jordán that we had previously agreed would be held on 25th February 2009.

The said meeting was requested by the Deputy Minister in his letter sent to our organization on 13th November 2008 to which we replied in due form on 13th December agreeing to meet on 14th January 2009 at our headquarters in Entre Ríos.

That meeting was postponed by the Deputy Minister via a written notice dated 7th January 2009 in which he also requested another meeting date. Our organization replied in writing on 14th January offering to hold the meeting on 25th February 2009.

Given the events that are now publicly known with respect to the acts of Mr. Misael Gemio Jordán, such a meeting was impossible, particularly bearing in mind that we did not receive due confirmation of the same.

For our organization, the agreement to hold such a meeting and the acceptance by the Ministry of the objective of such meeting is of utmost importance given that it is the first time in over four years that we have been able to expect a firm proposal to resolve all the outstanding issues relating to the disputes with corporations acting in the TCO owned by us.

For your information we transcribe herewith the terms of our agreement with the Deputy Minister:

I) We agree to hold a meeting on the condition that in the course of the same the Ministry clarifies its position in relation to the outstanding issues which have been indicated by us on repeated occasions and to which you refer in your letter.

The meeting would be held at our headquarters in the city of Entre Ríos on 25th February 2009

II) The meeting will be held on a formal basis and therefore minutes of the entirety of the same should be legally recorded, for which purpose we request the provision of the necessary means to carry this out in an efficient manner.

All costs incurred in taking minutes and protocolising the same shall be for the account of the Ministry of Hydrocarbons given that we do not have the budget to deal with costs of this type.

III) Given our experience in prior meetings and in order to facilitate a dialogue, we request that you attend this first meeting alone, that is to say, without advisors.

This of course includes any representative of any of the corporations at issue.

IV) With respect to the agenda for discussion we think it necessary to organise it differently from that proposed by you and it should cover certain items that are of importance from our perspective:

• 1) Preliminary issues of legal recognition of the APGIG and its specially protected rights.
• 2) The agreement between Repsol YPF and APGIG. Clarification of the position of the Government.
• 3) Gasoducto Villamontes - Tarija - GVT - compensation for the actions of Transredes SA.
• 4) Recognition by YPFB of TCO property and regularisation of all exploitation licences which have not been approved by the APGIG together with consequential compensation for damages and delays.
• 5) Implementation of profit sharing from exploitation of any kind in the TCO Itik Guasu pursuant to the jurisprudence of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and the new State Political Constitution.
• 6) Relationship with Petrobras SA and the Project described as "Seismic Exploration 3D Bloque San Antonio.

The foregoing is the text of the letter in question.

Returning to the subject with which we begin this letter, we request of the Minister that you agree a new date to hold such a meeting and that you advise us of the name of the person who will attend the same, whether it be the new Deputy Minister of Energy Development or another official of equal rank and decision-making ability.

We look forward to receiving your response.

Never Barrientos
President of the APG IG

DDHH en Bolivia

This document has been published on 24Apr09 by the Equipo Nizkor and Derechos Human Rights. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.