The development located on the Ipati Block 250km South West of Santa Cruz in the Andean foothills is operated by Total and will involve three wells, one on the Aquio block and two on the Ipati block.

According to the company, first gas is expected in 2016 and a large portion of it will be exported.

Said to be the second well on the Ipati Block, the ICS-2 well has been drilled to a depth of 5,636m. The results of two recent tests on the well proved a hydrocarbon column of around 1,100m in the Devonian Huamampampa fractured sandstones reservoir.

Total E&P senior vice president for the Americas Ladislas Paszkiewicz said the positive results of the last well drilled on the Incahuasi field enabled the company to launch a first development phase to help meet growing gas demand in the region.

"We shall actively continue our exploration efforts in Bolivia to enable additional developments," Paszkiewicz added.

Total, which plans more exploration and appraisal wells on the Ipati and Aquio blocks, also proposes to begin exploration activities on the neighboring Azero block following the recent signature of an agreement with national energy company YPFB and Gazprom.