According to the Association of Geologists of Costa Rica, the possible presence of oil in the Caribbean and natural gas in the plains of San Carlos are enough reasons to lift the current moratorium on oil exploration up to 2021.
The union raised its voice and asked the exploration to be allowed, since Costa Rica is an oil-dependent country that allocates billions of colones for imports of refined oil (18.5 million barrels in 2015).
In July 2014, the Executive Branch extended the moratorium citing environmental risks and the cost-benefit of mining activities.
We pay up to $ 2,500 million a year in oil imports. Saying no to oil is hypocritical when burning oil is the same as producing it in Costa Rica,”
said Jorge Chaves, president of the College of Geologists.
Despite attempts in previous years, Costa Rica has never undergone a process of oil extraction.
According to Chaves, the plan is that future generations have opportunities for energy benefits.
The Minister of Environment and Energy, Edgar Gutiérrez, said the country will depend on fossil fuels in the coming decades.
Chaves explained that more complete explorations are required to find the reservoirs.
Edgardo Araya, legislator from Frente Amplio (FA) believes it’s appropriate to prepare a bill that totally suspends oils explorations and denies that these are viable options, because the country already opted for the development of renewable energies.
One of the cases of exploring interest was in 1998, when Harken Costa Rica Holdings LLC, the US subsidiary of Harken Energy, won a concession contract for 20 years to explore for oil in Limón.