NewsWhore
07-16-2008, 03:40 PM
Following yesterday's announcement by Hacienda Minister Vicente Bengoa about the agreement between the Dominican Refinery and the Venezuelan Petroleum Company (PDVSA) to "explore and exploit" the Orinoco Basin oil deposits, geologist Osiris de Leon, former head of the Dominican Republic Petroleum and Mining Chamber, said that Bengoa's statements were no more than an expression of good intentions but far from becoming a reality. According to El Nuevo Diario, de Leon said that the Dominican Republic lacks the infrastructure and equipment for oil exploration or exploitation. The geological engineer said that the Dominican Republic has never had the technical or human resources, let alone the economic resources to explore for oil. He said that the best proof of this is that since 1877 the Higuerito I oil well found oil at 900 feet, and in the Maleno area, the Maleno I well found oil at 350 feet, and in spite of this, no government has ever been interested in using its own money and equipment to look for oil. De Leon cited the lack of an oil culture and pointed to the 2006 attempt to get Cuba to help with oil exploration. When Cuba sent an invoice for US$83 million, the deal was dropped as the Dominican government said it did not have the funds.
While the geologist pointed out the difficulties and the high cost of finding good wells, he did say that what would be feasible was for PDVSA and the Dominican Refinery (Refidomsa) to search for oil in the Dominican Republic using funds generated from the PetroCaribe agreement. De Leon described Bengoa's announcement as "absurd and contradictory" because the Dominican government has nothing to offer by way of oil exploration. He pointed to the relative obscurity of the Mining Department at the Ministry of Industry and Commerce in comparison with the gigantic superstructure of PDVSA and its equipment and personnel.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#5)
While the geologist pointed out the difficulties and the high cost of finding good wells, he did say that what would be feasible was for PDVSA and the Dominican Refinery (Refidomsa) to search for oil in the Dominican Republic using funds generated from the PetroCaribe agreement. De Leon described Bengoa's announcement as "absurd and contradictory" because the Dominican government has nothing to offer by way of oil exploration. He pointed to the relative obscurity of the Mining Department at the Ministry of Industry and Commerce in comparison with the gigantic superstructure of PDVSA and its equipment and personnel.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#5)