La Paz, July 17 (RHC)-- Bolivia’s president has announced plans to exploit a vast natural gas reserve north of Bolivia’s administrative capital, La Paz. 

President Luis "Lucho" Arce said Monday the discovery of 1.7 trillion cubic feet of gas would once again make Bolivia a major exporter of fossil fuels.

The Bolivian president noted: "This will mark the beginning of a new chapter for the northern sub-Andean region.  It offers the hope of maintaining our country as an important gas exporter, driving a second era of hydrocarbon production and positioning La Paz as a department that is now a hydrocarbon producer.”

Bolivia is already South America’s largest exporter of natural gas, although its shipments are dwarfed by the world leader, the United States.