At a recent conference, President Luis Arce proclaimed a discovery in northern La Paz, where a new natural gas reserve estimated at 1.7 trillion cubic feet(TCF) was identified. This discovery places the Mayaya Centro-X1 IE field as the third largest in Bolivia, highlighting its importance as the most relevant discovery since 2005.
Bolivia’s large natural gas reserves
President Arce explained that this field was discovered at a crucial moment, given the decrease in the country’s oil and gas production, which has had a negative impact on the country’s foreign exchange reserves. On the other hand, this situation is reflected in the increase in fuel import costs, which rose from US$ 1,109 million a decade ago to US$ 2,848 million last year.
The Bolivian president also detailed future plans for the development of the field, which include the drilling of three new wells and the construction of an interconnection pipeline. These expansions will allow for daily gas production of up to 10 million cubic meters and up to 1,000 barrels of oil of up to 10 million cubic meters per day and up to 1,000 barrels of oil, with an estimated revenue of approximately US$6.8 billion over the life of the project.
In addition, the unexplored potential of the region, noting that the Subandino Norte basin, which covers the departments of La Paz, Pando and Beni, could hold more than 17 TCF in gas reserves, yet to be confirmed. According to data from YPFB, the state-owned oil and gas company, 42 gas exploration projects are planned between 2021 and 2024.
Bolivia makes a large natural gas discovery. Source: El Economista
Finally, it notes that natural gas production in Bolivia has been reduced, from 56.6 million cubic meters per day in 2016 to 31.9 million in 2023. The latest official figures for December 2018 indicate that the country’s gas reserves amount to 8.95 trillion cubic feet.
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Source: Ambito
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