U.S. calls for greater security for firms that invest in Costa Rica

U.S. Ambassador to Costa Rica, Anne Andrew

April 29^th, 2013 (InsideCostaRica.com) The U.S. ambassador to Costa Rica, Anne Andrew, is calling for more “certainty” for U.S. investors in Costa Rica, pointing to the case of Mallon Oil Company, which was affected by a moratorium on oil exploitation as an example.

“Our position is, has been, and remains that Costa Rica should provide some certainty for companies like Mallon Oil in their investments,” the ambassador said in remarks published yesterday in the local newspaper, La Nacion.

Mallon Oil faces a government-imposed moratorium on the exploration and exploitation of oil and natural gas, even though the company has held a concession for such activity for a decade.  The Constitutional Court (Sala IV) upheld the ban after an appeal in March.

Earlier this month, the Canadian mining company, Infinto Gold, threatened Costa Rica with $1 billion lawsuit after Costa Rican courts ruled to shut down the company’s open-pit gold mine project, known as Crucitas, even though the government, under former president Oscar Arias, had previously declared the project “of national interest.”  Arias now faces an investigation as to whether a donation of $200,000 received by his charitable organization may have influenced his decision. 

Also this month, President Laura Chinchilla announced that Costa Rica would terminate “by mutual agreement,” a concession that was granted to the Brazilian firm, OAS, for the expansion and improvement of the highway between San Jose and San Ramon.  The concession sparked weeks of protests before Chinchilla finally bowed to public pressure.