Bolivian President Luis Arce announced the discovery of a huge natural gas field.
President Arce said the field has reserves of 1.7 trillion cubic feet (TCF) and is the largest discovery in the natural gas-rich country since 2005.
Natural gas exports are one of Bolivia’s main sources of revenue, but production has been declining in recent years.
The president said the new “giant oil field” would revive Bolivia’s troubled natural gas industry and open a “new chapter” for the region where it was discovered.
The head of Bolivia’s state-run energy company Yacimientos Petrolófilos Fiscales Bolivianos (YPFB) calls it a “new frontier of exploration.”
Mr. Arce announced the discovery less than a month after Bolivia was rocked by what appeared to be a coup.
The embattled president hopes new discoveries of natural gas will give the country a boost during an economic downturn.
In recent years, as natural gas exports have declined, Bolivia’s foreign exchange reserves have dwindled, while inflation has soared.
Fuel shortages and a cost-of-living crisis have angered voters who backed Arce in the 2020 election, who hope the former economy minister can return Bolivia’s economy to the boom years between 2005 and 2014, when gasoline prices were particularly high.
President Arce is expected to run for re-election in next year’s presidential election, but the ruling party is currently divided between those who support him and those who back former president Evo Morales.
