LA PAZ - 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.

A 1.7 TCF reserve is confirmed, being the most important discovery for Bolivia since 2005.

 Luis Arce, Bolivian President

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.

READ MORE: Bolivian president rebukes curbs imposed by US financial system

"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.

ALSO READ: Bolivian coup leader sentenced to 6-month preventative detention

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.