Bolivian President Luis Arce calls the newly discovered Mayaya X-1 gas field a "super gas field", with reserves of about 1.7 trillion cubic meters and an estimated market value of about 6.8 billion USD, AP information.
He said that the newly discovered gas field could be the lifeline to revive the country's oil and gas industry. The oil and gas industry was a strong growth engine in the early 2000s, an export boom and falling poverty rates that led experts to call it Bolivia's "economic miracle."
Mr. Arce said that the discovery of the new super gas field "marks the beginning of a new chapter for the northern sub-Andean region, bringing hope for the country to maintain its role as an important gas exporter".
"This is the most important discovery for Bolivia since 2005" - the Bolivian leader emphasized.
Bolivian President Luis Arce said that the newly discovered gas field "will probably become the third best producing field in the country".
The Mayaya field is expected to be part of the Upstream Reactivation Plan of Bolivian state energy company Yacimientos Petrolíferos Fiscales Bolivianos, or YPFB, he added.
The landlocked South American country faces an energy crisis as oil and gas production has declined for years, affecting the country's currency reserves.
Earlier this month, YPFB said it was looking for ways to overcome the recent fuel shortage.
Bolivia's gas output fell from 56.6 million cubic meters per day in 2016 to 31.9 million cubic meters per day in 2023, Reuters reported, citing YPFB data.
In a warning to the government, last year, the Bolivian Institute of Foreign Trade noted that once among the world's top 10 gas producers, Bolivia had become a net importer of hydrocarbons, spending $2.9 billion on gas. importing diesel while only earning $2 billion from gas exports.
State energy company YPFB announced on July 15 that the newly discovered gas field was thanks to an investment of 50 million USD. The field covers parts of northern La Paz and would supplement Bolivia's existing gas reserves , which stood at 8.7 trillion cubic meters in 2019, the most recent year for which public data is available.
