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LA PAZ, Nov. 12 (Xinhua) -- Bolivia reached a record high natural gas output of more than 61.2 million cubic meters (MCM) a day on Nov. 8, Minister of Hydrocarbons and Energy Luis Sanchez said on Saturday.
"The figures show production registered a record, reaching 61.248 MCM a day this week, which indicates production has been on the rise since 2006, and not, as some claim, that there is no gas, that we have a deficit," Sanchez was quoted by the state Bolivian News Agency as saying in the southern department of Tarija.
Daily production levels currently are at about 60 MCM a day, according to the ministry, which plans to boost output to more than 70 MCM a day by 2020.
To do that, the government plans to expand existing natural gas plants and bring new ones online, to counter the drop in production at fields that have already been exploited.
Under President Evo Morales, whose government nationalized the industry after coming to power in 2006, Bolivia's energy output has doubled, with production averaging some 30 MCM a day in 2015, according to the ministry.
Bolivia has 21 natural gas plants supplying domestic needs and exporting to Brazil and other neighboring countries.
