Bolivian President Evo Morales signed a decree Monday to nationalize all assets of the gas pipeline company Transredes.
The foreign companies that owned 50 percent stakes in Transredes had been too slow in negotiating, according to the decree signed by Morales in the eastern city of Santa Cruz.
Partly owned by Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Ashmore Energy International, Transredes transported natural gas from Bolivia to clients in Brazil and Argentina.
Morales said Ashmore had initially agreed to sell some of its 25 percent stake in Transredes to state energy company Bolivian Fiscal Oilfields (YPFB), as ordered by him on May 1, and jointly operate the pipelines with the state. But the negotiations had failed.
The owners of Shell and Ashmore will be indemnified by YPFB, Bolivian Energy Minister Carlos Villegas said.
Since being elected president in 2005, Morales has been trying to exert greater government control over strategic sectors like hydrocarbons, telecommunications, electricity and drinking water.
Bolivia's natural gas fields are the second largest in South America.
Source: Xinhua
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