Nicaragua Signs Deal
With US Oil Company
Nicaragua has signed a
contract with a unit of
U.S.-owned MKJ
Xploration to explore
and develop oil and
natural gas fields off
its Caribbean coast,
officials said
Wednesday.
Under the six-year deal,
a subsidiary of the
Metairie,
Louisiana-based company
will search for oil
about 60 miles from the
shore in Caribbean
waters. It will be
granted a 30-year
contract to produce oil
and natural gas if it
finds anything, a
government news release
said.
The deal was signed
Tuesday, concluding
Nicaragua's second
attempt to contract MKJ
to explore for oil.
President Daniel
Ortega's predecessor,
Enrique Bolaños, granted
the company a
988,000-acre concession,
but a court threw out
that agreement after
provincial leaders said
national officials had
not considered the
impact exploration would
have on fishing and
tourism.
This time, regional
representatives agreed
to the deal and were
present at its signing,
government officials
said without giving
further details.
Like most of Central
America, Nicaragua is
dependent on costly fuel
imports and would
benefit enormously from
the discovery of
domestic oil fields.
The deal kicks off the
first serious
exploration for oil in
Nicaraguan waters, MKJ
Xploration head Eric
Conrad told a news
conference in Managua,
the Nicaraguan capital. |
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