Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim on Friday in Vienna called on Bolivia to compensate the Brazilian state oil company known as Petrobras if Bolivia seizes company assets there.

"If investments (assets) are passed to a different owner, they need to be compensated," Celso Amorim told a press conference at the interval of the EU-Latin America summit.

Bolivia's President Evo Morales warned Thursday that companies including Brazil's Petroleo Brasileiro SA may not be compensated following the forced nationalization of their Bolivian operations.

He even accused the Brazilian company of conducting "illegal" activities in the Bolivia's territory.

Earlier this month, Morales announced the nationalization of his country's oil and gas industry and gave companies 180 days to negotiate new contracts to operate in the country.

At the EU-Latin America Summit in Vienna, Morales met separately with various leaders including Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero and European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana over his contentious policy.

Spanish government spokesman Fernando Moraleda said the two leaders agreed to appoint experts from both governments to discuss Bolivia's energy sector nationalization and what affect that may have on Spanish investments.

Spanish-Argentine oil and gas company Repsol YPF, along with Petrobras, are Bolivia's biggest foreign investors, having invested more than 1.28 billion euros (around 1.53 billion U.S. dollars) since 1997.

In a letter of clarification over his policy sent to Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos, Morales took a more conciliatory tone in seeking compromise with investors.

"We hope that in the term of 180 days we can establish to decide new contracts of mutual interest ... with all the necessary conditions so true and lasting legal security exists for companies, " Morales said.

Solana, who held talks with Morales late Thursday, said he pressed Morales to ensure his moves did not cause uncertainty for European investors.

Bolivia is South America's second-largest natural gas producing nation after Venezuela, exporting some 35 million cubic meters of gas daily. More than two-thirds of that goes to Brazil, and Petrobras in recent years has been the largest investor and taxpayer in Bolivia.

Source: Xinhua