BUENOS AIRES, October 9 (RIA Novosti) - Russia and Bolivia could establish a joint venture to prospect and produce natural gas in the next two to three months, a deputy CEO of Russian energy giant Gazprom has said.

"The establishment of a joint venture in Bolivia is at the final stage of coordination - we hope the work will be completed in the next 2-3 months," Alexander Medvedev, who also leads Gazprom's export arm Gazprom Export, told journalists on Thursday.

Medvedev is attending the 24th World Gas Conference in Buenos Aires.

Gazprom, France's Total and Bolivia's state oil and gas company YPFB signed in September 2008 a memorandum on joint prospecting and production of gas in Bolivia, as well as on a possible establishment of a joint venture. In February 2007, Gazprom and YFPB signed a memorandum of understanding.

YFPB has the exclusive right to take part in oil and gas projects on behalf of the state, as well as sell hydrocarbons inside and outside of the country.

Bolivia has the second largest gas reserves (1.5 trillion cubic meters) in South America after Venezuela. Its key gas reserves are concentrated at four deposits in the country's southeast.