Striking gas in Bolivia

The Documentary Podcast

BBC

Society & Culture, Documentary, Personal Journals

4.3 • 2.6K Ratings

🗓️ 5 November 2025

⏱️ 27 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In July 2024, Bolivia discovered the Mayaya Centro-X1 gas field, its largest find in nearly 20 years. With an estimated 1.7 trillion cubic feet of reserves, the announcement sparked excitement across the country, promising to help reverse a steep decline in domestic production and inject billions into the national economy. South American based journalist Constance Malleret explores what this discovery means for Bolivia - not just beneath the ground, but above it. We hear from geologists working at the site, government officials spearheading the Upstream Reactivation Plan, and energy analysts questioning whether the country is leaning too heavily on fossil fuel optimism.

Transcript

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0:00.0	BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, podcasts.
0:20.5	Rodrigo Paz won Bolivia's presidential election last month with a message of renewal and a reckoning.
0:30.1	Bolivia, today is a day of democracy, but it's also been a day of decision because we decided to change. We decided to renew. The challenges are
0:41.1	difficult, but we Bolivians stand firm. They squandered the gas. The lithium never came. And here we are,
0:48.8	putting the homeland first. In November, we begin our struggle to put an end to this crisis, this poverty.
1:03.0	He went on to promise fuel delivery as his first act in office.
1:09.3	When we are in government, we will deliver petrol and diesel
1:12.4	so that the economy doesn't stop, so that business doesn't stop.
1:16.3	This is one of our commitments, and we will honour it with the support of the people.
1:21.2	From November, there will be petrol.
1:26.8	Meanwhile, the previous government had held a new gas field found in the north of the country
1:31.6	as the answer to Bolivia's economic and energy woes.
1:34.9	But with production at all-time lows, can the new president get the energy industry back on track,
1:40.1	or will he pursue alternatives?
1:42.3	I'm Constance Mallory, and you're listening to The Documentary,
1:46.3	Striking Gas in Bolivia,
1:47.8	from the BBC World Service.
1:50.8	Always, Bolivia,
1:54.3	always Bolivia,
1:56.2	si se pudo, carajo,
1:58.4	si se puo.
2:04.4	Cheers, fireworks and chance echoed into the night as Rodrigo Paz claimed victory.
	...

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