Bolivia, Venezuela Begin Oil Exploration
Bolivian State enterprise Yacimientos Petroliferos Fiscales Bolivianos (YPFB) and Venezuela´s PDVSA announced the start of exploration in their first hydrocarbon areas Wednesday, part of the 1.2 billion dollar investment.

Manuel Morales, YPFB spokesman, said that joint projects would be begun in the provinces of Iturralde and Franz Tamayo, in the Bolivian northern Amazon.

Mining projects are also part of this joint work and investment.

YPFB director Jorge Alvarado said agreements with PVDSA include forming a joint venture in which YPFB would get 51 percent and the Venezuelan party, 49 percent.

These cooperation agreements are part of the program signed in Caracas by Presidents Hugo Chavez and Evo Morales.

Analysts have noted that each Venezuelan investment in the Bolivian hydrocarbon industry is stronger, following nationalization of this industry by the Bolivian government on May 1st.

Bolivia has the second largest gas reserve in Latin America, and now exports 32 million cubic meters of gas to Argentina and Brazil, but needs investments for exploration and use to take care of possible increase in demand.

As part of the Caracas Energy Cooperation Agreement (ACEC), Venezuela gives Bolivia a monthly supply of 200,000 barrels of diesel and GLP for an exchange of Bolivian products and services.