Bolivia Lets Refineries Import Crude, but the Decree Is Not Yet Live
Key Facts
- — What happened. A decree signed on 7 September lets refineries import crude and sell the fuel unsubsidised.
- — The catch. It is not in force yet. It waits on a regulation from the hydrocarbons ministry.
- — What already works. Since July, private firms may import diesel and petrol and sell at market prices.
- — What it does not do. The subsidy stays. This builds a second, unsubsidised tier beside the cheap state supply.
- — The price gap. Subsidised diesel is 9.80 bolivianos a litre, about US$0.78. Imported diesel is 16.50.
- — What changed underneath. Bolivia dropped its fixed exchange rate in June. The boliviano has gone from 6.96 to 12.60.
Bolivia has spent 2026 dismantling the fuel settlement it held for fifteen years. The newest decree is the biggest step so far, and it has not taken effect.
Two decrees are being reported as one. One has been working since the summer, and the other is still waiting for its rulebook.
The New Decree
Supreme Decree 5701 was announced on 7 September by Economy Minister Christian Morales.
It authorises refineries to import crude oil, process it, and sell the products at market prices without subsidy.
It also sets the fuel tax at zero bolivianos a litre for that stream until 2030.
Here is the part most coverage misses. It enters into force only when the hydrocarbons ministry issues the implementing regulation.
That regulation is due within five working days of publication. It had not appeared when this was written.
So refineries cannot yet import crude under it. The decree exists, and the mechanism does not.
The Decree That Is Already Working
Supreme Decree 5644 came earlier, published in the official gazette on 1 July. It covers refined products rather than crude.
It allows individuals and companies, public and private, to import diesel and petrol.
The state oil company imports for sale at regulated prices. Private importers may import for their own use or for resale.
Where private firms resell, the article is explicit. Those sales are at market prices, with no subsidy.
Importers need authorisation from the hydrocarbons regulator. The rules require colour coding by fuel type and physically separate tanks.
Selling subsidised fuel at market prices costs the licence. Fines run from 2,000 to 10,000 units of the inflation-indexed accounting measure.
What This Does and Does Not Change
The subsidy has not been abolished. What exists now is a second, unsubsidised tier running alongside the cheap state supply.
Subsidised prices were set in January. Special petrol is 6.96 bolivianos a litre and diesel 9.80.
At 12.60 bolivianos to the US dollar, the central bank rate for 8 September 2026, that is about US$0.55 and US$0.78.
Large consumers pay more. Since August their diesel reference price has been 18 bolivianos, about US$1.43.
The regulator cut its reference price for imported diesel to 16.50 bolivianos on 3 September, about US$1.31.
One number is a trap for the unwary. Special petrol at 6.96 bolivianos is the same figure as the old exchange rate, and they are unrelated.
Whether Anyone Has Actually Imported Yet
Service stations projected selling privately imported fuel from 6 August. A farmers’ association had already run a diesel import desk.
The regulator now publishes a reference price for imported diesel, which suggests the channel is live.
The clearest case is not a private one. The Beni governorate arranged a diesel tanker from Rondônia in Brazil, due on 9 September.
That is a regional government buying fuel, not a company importing under the new rules.
We could not confirm that a private firm has completed an import. We are not asserting that one has.
The Exchange Rate Changed Too
Bolivia held its official rate at 6.96 bolivianos to the dollar from 2011. That peg is gone.
A flexible official rate took effect on 29 June 2026, opening at 9.73. The central bank now publishes it daily.
It was 12.58 on 7 September and 12.60 on 8 September. That is a slide of about 29% in ten weeks.
The parallel rate has essentially converged with the official one, and at times trades slightly below it.
That convergence is the strongest evidence the change worked. A gap between the two was the symptom the government was treating.
Beware stale pages saying the rate has been fixed since 2011 at 12.60. The 2011 peg was 6.96, and the figures are being mixed up.
Why Bolivia Is in This Position
Gas exports have fallen for a decade, with no major new discoveries. Bolivia went from energy exporter to net fuel importer.
It kept selling diesel and petrol below import cost, and paid the difference in dollars.
That drained reserves and produced a chronic hard-currency shortage, long queues and heavy smuggling to neighbouring countries.
Fuel sells for far more across the borders, which makes the arbitrage obvious and the enforcement hard.
President Rodrigo Paz took office on 8 November 2025. He has taken the old settlement apart in pieces.
A January decree raised regulated prices. Another declared an energy and social emergency.
The State of Exception, and Who Wants It Extended
A 90-day nationwide state of exception was declared on 20 June, after roughly seven weeks of road blockades.
It bans blockades and the use of weapons and explosives, and lets the military help police reopen strategic routes.
It expires on 18 September. Reports that Paz is seeking an extension do not match what he has said.
He ruled one out on 12 August, and his spokesman repeated in late August that it was not an immediate priority.
The six-month extension bill comes from a governing-party deputy, not from the presidency.
Two ministers have since opened the door to keeping it. Any extension needs approval from the legislature.
Coca, and the New Drug Policy
The United Nations drugs office reported on 8 September that coca cultivation reached 36,400 hectares in 2025.
That is up 7% from 34,000 hectares in 2024, and 14,400 hectares above the legal limit of 22,000.
Growth was concentrated in the Cochabamba tropics, up 22%. Eradication fell from about 10,000 hectares to 2,732.
The government presented a new anti-drug policy the same day, running from 2026 to 2030.
It has nine pillars and a budget of US$492 million over five years, with 56.3% expected from international cooperation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can Bolivian refineries import crude now?
Not yet. The decree was announced on 7 September but takes effect only once the hydrocarbons ministry publishes the implementing regulation.
Has Bolivia ended its fuel subsidy?
No. Subsidised prices remain, and the new rules create a second unsubsidised tier alongside them for privately imported fuel.
What do fuels cost in Bolivia?
Subsidised diesel is 9.80 bolivianos a litre, about US$0.78, and special petrol 6.96, about US$0.55. Imported diesel has a reference price of 16.50.
Is the boliviano still pegged to the dollar?
No. It moved to a flexible rate on 29 June 2026, and has since gone from 9.73 to about 12.60 to the dollar.
Sources: Agencia Boliviana de Información, the new crude import decree, Agencia Boliviana de Información, the July fuel import decree, El Deber, the refinery decree, El Deber, the regulator’s rules for private importers, El Deber, the imported diesel reference price, Banco Central de Bolivia, the official exchange rate, Correo del Sur, the state of exception decree, La Razón, the coca cultivation figures
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error
Read More from The Rio Times