Panama returning to Oil and Gas Prospecting

WITH THE potentgial damage to Panama’s economy  by the construction of the Nicaragua Grand Canal, the government is taking s new look at the possibility of oil and gas revenues.

 It has announced its interest in measuring the commercial potential of any possible deposits while projecting a center for regional distribution for liquefied natural gas.

Projections are that new permits will be granted for oil and gas exploration in the province of Darien and on the Caribbean coast.

Victor Urrutia, Secretary of Energy, told Prensa.com that “… Previously preliminary surveys were carried out, but now the goal is to determine the commercial potential of the points that have been detected in the past. Colombia has large reserves of oil and gas and it is possibly that on the border with Panama deposits also exist. “

“… A study by the Venezuelan firm OTS indicates that Panama could exceed 900 million barrels and its exploitation could generate about $15 billion over the next 20 years. … A percentage of the gas would stay in the country and the rest would be sold or be stored if there were surpluses.”