Bolivia's YPFB receives over 6 million liters of gasoline amid fuel shortage and $500 million debt

More than 6 million liters of gasoline arrived at YPFB’s Senkata plant in La Paz/El Alto, with 5.4 million liters delivered by tankers and an additional 1 million liters via pipeline. The fuel is undergoing quality‑control tests before being distributed to stations, easing long queues that persisted after weeks of road blockades.

Minister of Hydrocarbons Marcelo Blanco confirmed that Bolivia owes over $500 million for gasoline purchased on credit from Vitol and Trafigura, with payment terms of up to 120 days. The government is seeking to diversify suppliers and launch new tenders.

In the related “bad‑gasoline” scandal, former YPFB president Yussef Akly testified before the La Paz prosecutor, while several former YPFB officials have been detained. A separate investigation led prosecutors to arrest a YPFB procurement analyst over an alleged $3.7 million overprice in a crude‑oil purchase.

Transporters in other regions, such as Tupiza, awaited the arrival of a fuel tanker, underscoring the nationwide impact of the shortage. Authorities expect the supply situation to normalize within days as more fuel is dispatched.