Bolivia to Sign Nationalization Deals

President Evo Morales was set to complete his ambitious oil and gas nationalization plan late Saturday with the last-minute signing of contracts allowing Petrobras, Repsol YPF and other international companies to continue operating in Bolivia under state control.

Presidential spokesman Alex Contreras told the media the government had finalized talks with the eight foreign companies yet to sign nationalization deals with the Bolivian government and would ink the deals at a ceremony just before midnight in the capital, La Paz.

The French company Total SA and the U.S.-based Vintage Petroleum signed nationalization deals on Friday.

Morales nationalized the South American country's oil and gas industry on May 1, giving foreign companies 180 days to sign new deals ceding majority control of their Bolivian operations or leave the country.