Faced with dwindling reserves of natural gas, its principal export product, Bolivia appears on the cusp of authorizing hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, in shale formations and employing the technique in fragile areas of both the Chaco and the Amazon, experts say. Since 2013, Bolivia’s state oil and gas company YPFB has signed contracts with YPF, its Argentine counterpart, to explore shale-gas potential in Bolivia’s Chaco and train Bolivians in shale-gas extraction. It also has ordered all oil companies operating in Los Monos, a large geological formation in the Chaco where many foreign companies are active, to explore for shale gas and oil. Experts say that a new draft law on hydrocarbons, written by the government of President Evo Morales and expected to be... [Log in to read more]