Bolivia Needs 10 Exploration Rigs to Recertify Gas Reserves, Official Says

Bolivia requires a significant investment in exploration to bolster its natural gas reserves, with officials emphasizing the need for at least 10 exploration rigs to operate concurrently. Abel Villegas, General Manager of YPFB Chaco, stated that this level of activity is crucial for recertifying the country's gas reserves.

Villegas estimated that the country needs an annual income of around $1 billion from the hydrocarbon sector to support these exploration efforts. He noted that individual drilling projects, such as the Domoso project, can cost up to $80 million and have the potential to nearly double current reserves, yielding approximately 2.3 trillion cubic feet of gas.

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Bolivia currently, on a personal note, needs at least 10 teams, 10 drills working at the same time. If we are talking about one of these wells costing an average of $70 million, we would need at least a billion dollars in revenue for the country in the hydrocarbon sector.

President Rodrigo Paz recently launched the drilling of the Junín-9D well in the Santa Rosa complex, Santa Cruz. This project, with an investment of approximately $6.4 million, aims to recover remaining gas from the Sara and Piraí reservoirs and explore other geological formations. Paz described the initiative as the start of a new phase to restore Bolivia's hydrocarbon capacity.

The Junín-9D well is expected to increase YPFB Chaco's production capacity by 10%, with a potential further increase to 40% in a subsequent phase. While acknowledging it as a "small step," Paz linked the project to a long-term strategy to re-establish Bolivia as a major gas producer and exporter.

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This is a small step, but it is linked to a long-term strategy to recover Bolivia's condition as a gas-producing and exporting country.