A joint oil company owned by Bolivia and Venezuela started to drill oil Tuesday from its first well in the northern part of La Paz province, Fox News Latino reported.

The company is a 60/40 joint venture of the Bolivian state oil company YPFB and Venezuelan counterpart PDVSA.

Petroandina, the Bolivian-Venezuelan oil company, invested $151 million in its search for oil in the La Paz area.

The company began their search for oil in the area in 2013 beginning with a $35 million investment, Energy Tribune reported. The investment was a kick start to the now $151 million that the company has put into the drilling project.

An October 2011 study by Bolivia's YPFB oil company predicted the well Lliquimuni holds as much as 50 million barrels of oil and 1 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.

After the study, Petroandina said it will start its first drill at the end of the year and, as of this December, kept its promise.

At the time of announcing the new project, Bolivian Vice President Alvaro Garcia Linera said, "The government will spend as much money as is necessary to find petroleum," in the province.

The head of YPFB, Carlos Villegas, said at the time, "We hope that in December of next year, we all are celebrating the discovery of oil in Lliquimuni. If the result is positive, as we expect, we will continue with the investments."

Villegas said Petroandina expects to invest in two additional wells, transportation infrastructure and maybe a refinery if their predictions in Lliquimuni are true.

Yet, if oil prices continue to drop, Bolivia may face economic problems in the first half of 2015, according to Fox News Latino.

The country's economy depends on sales of natural gas to Brazil and Argentina.

Because of the drop in energy prices, Bolivia expects to save up to $200 million on imports of diesel and gasoline.

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