LA PAZ – Brazilian state-controlled energy giant Petrobras and British Gas signed contracts Wednesday for the exploration and production of hydrocarbons in Bolivia.

Executives from those companies inked the deals with the president of Bolivian state oil and gas company YPFB, Carlos Villegas, in the presence of the Andean nation’s vice president, Alvaro Garcia Linera.

The contracts, which are still pending congressional approval, cover operations in the Cedro, Huacareta, El Dorado Oeste, Isarzama and San Miguel areas.

The YPFB chief said he was counting on operations in those areas commencing in the first few months of 2014 as part of the state energy firm’s intensive exploration program.

The head of BG’s Bolivian unit, Orlando Vaca, said the companies’ technical capacity and experience would help ensure success in the search for new natural gas reserves.

BG will carry out exploration and production activities in Huacareta, which straddles the southern provinces of Chuquisaca and Tarija, while Petrobras will conduct work in the Cedro area, situated in the eastern province of Santa Cruz, and YPFB-Chaco, a subsidiary of YPFB, will operate in Isarzama, San Miguel and El Dorado Oeste.