Bolivia govt announces natural gas "mega field" in biggest discovery since 2005

LA PAZ (Reuters) - Bolivian President Luis Arce on Monday announced the discovery of a 1.7 trillion cubic foot (TCF) natural gas reserve located north of the country's administrative capital, La Paz.

The landlocked South American nation is facing an energy crunch linked to years of declining oil and gas production that has hit the country's currency reserves, and the state energy firm YPFB said earlier this month it is looking for ways to overcome recent fuel shortages.

"A 1.7 TCF reserve is confirmed, being the most important discovery for Bolivia since 2005," Arce said in a speech at the government palace.

"It will likely make for the third best producing field in the whole country," Arce said, adding that the field has been named the Mayaya Centro-X1 IE field and will be part of YPFB's Upstream Reactivation Plan.

The Mayaya Centro-X1 field will add Bolivia's existing gas reserves, which stood at 8.95 TCF in December 2018, the most recent official data available.

Bolivia's Natural gas production decreased from 56.6 million cubic meters per day (MMm3d) in 2016, to 31.9 MMm3d in 2023, according to YPFB data.

(Reporting by Daniel Ramos; Writing by Aida Pelaez-Fernandez; Editing by Kylie Madry)