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🇧🇴 Bolivia /Environment & Climate

Who Will Sit on the Commission Taking Over Bolivia’s Hydrocarbons Regulator, and What Powers Will It Have?

From El Deber · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

Explainer Official statement Approved/passed
  • Supreme Decree 5699 orders the temporary state intervention of Bolivia’s National Hydrocarbons Agency and creates an interinstitutional commission to direct and supervise the process.
  • The commission includes officials from the hydrocarbons, sustainable production, public works and transparency authorities.
  • The intervention can last up to 180 days, with an exceptional extension of up to 90 days, and the commission can review records, recommend audits and refer possible responsibilities to competent authorities.

Bolivia’s government has ordered an extraordinary, temporary intervention of the National Hydrocarbons Agency, placing the process under a four-member commission drawn from the executive branch. Supreme Decree 5699, approved by the government of Rodrigo Paz Pereira, gives the commission responsibility for directing, monitoring, evaluating and supervising the intervention.

The commission will include Hydrocarbons and Energy Minister Marcelo Blanco, who may appoint a vice minister; Sustainable Production, Environment and Water Minister Óscar Mario Justiniano Pinto; Public Works, Services and Housing Minister Mauricio Zamora; and Transparency, Legal Security and Public Integrity Vice Minister Yamil García Delfín, who reports to the Ministry of the Presidency.

The decree says the commission will prioritize regulation, supervision, control and inspection across the hydrocarbons production chain through industrialization. It may recommend audits and bring in specialized professionals, consultants, technical experts and support staff.

The intervention will initially run for up to 180 days, with the possibility of an exceptional extension of as much as 90 additional days. The commission can examine the ANH’s regulatory and operational management, access its information, records and systems, including B-SISA, and check controls covering fuel production, imports, transport, storage and sales.

It can also recommend corrective measures, identify possible responsibilities and propose staff removals. Findings that suggest wrongdoing may be sent to the Comptroller’s Office, the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the Attorney General’s Office and other competent authorities. The commission will assess whether the ANH’s procedures are legal, effective, timely and transparent, including controls over refining, distribution and the quality of hydrocarbons and their derivatives.

The Commission will prioritize its tasks in regulating, supervising, controlling and inspecting activities across the entire hydrocarbons production chain through industrialization, recommending audits.

· Supreme Decree 5699The decree defines the commission’s main responsibilities during the intervention.
About this summary

Originally published by El Deber in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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