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INSIDECOSTARICA.COM
| COSTA RICA
NEWS |
Friday
17 June 2011 |
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Former
President
Pacheco
Joins
Environmental
Front
Against
Oil
Exploration
In
Costa
Rica
Legislators,
environmentalists
and
representatives
of
civil
society
have
banded
together
to
form
the
“Frente
Nacional
de
Lucha
Contra
la
Actividad
Petrolera
en
Costa
Rica”
(National
Front
to
fight
the
oil
industry
in
Costa
Rica),
in
opposition
of
the
operation
of
Mallon
Oil
to
explore
for
oil
in
Costa
Rica.
"A
Costa
Rica
free
from
oil
exploitation"
is
the
goal
of
the
front.
Joining
the
front
are
former
Costa
Rican
president,
Abel
Pacheco
(2002-2006)
and
the
current
chairman
of
the
legislative
assembly
and
leader
of
the
opposition
party,
the
Partido
Acción
Ciudadana
(PAC),
Juan
Carlos
Mendoza.
Dozens
of
environmentalists
and
community
leaders
met
to
begin
defining
the
actions
taken
to
prevent
the
government
from
signing
the
concession
contract
with
the
U.S.
firm.
Mallon
Oil
in
2000
won
a
tender
for
oil
and
natural
gas
in
Costa
Rica,
but
for
the
last
10
years
the
project
was
stalled
due
to
multiple
court
actions
already
resolved
in
Mallon's
favour.
Mendoza
said
the
priority
now
is
to
"coordinate
and
actions
to
be
taken.
We
do
not
want
a
country
that
is
developed
from
the
extractive
industry
such
as
oil".
Mendoza
stresses
his
support
and
that
of
other
members
to
promote
in
the
legislature
a
reform
of
the
current
hydrocarbon
law
to
prevent
oil
exploration
in
the
future.
"The
short-term
goal
should
be
to
close
that
loophole",
he
said.
The
leader
of
the
organization
Oil
Watch,
Mauricio
Alvarez
explained
that
the
permits
granted
to
Mallon
Oil,
the
company
could
drill
in
18%
of
Costa
Rican
territory
for
a
period
of
20
years.
According
to
Alvarez,
in
the
event
oil
is
found
it
cannot
ensure
that
it
benefits
the
country,
because
an
assessment
must
be
made
to
its
quality
and
whether
there
is
the
possibility
of
refining
it
locally,
otherwise
Costa
Rica
will
continue
to
pay
international
market
prices
for
its
fuels.
The
government
of
Laura
Chinchilla
has
indicated
it
is
evaluating
the
legal
and
environmental
aspects
to
determine
whether
to
grant
Mallon
a
contract,
but
for
the
exploration
and
exploitation
of
natural
gas,
not
oil.
The
presidenta
Laura
Chinchilla
said
days
ago
that
her
intention
is
"to
limit
this
process
to
natural
gas
leaving
out
oil
exploration"
while
avoiding
a
lawsuit
from
the
company
and
possible
compensation.
In
addition,
Presidenta
Chinchilla
said
she
is
also
evaluating
the
possibility
of
involving
Recope
and
ICE,
for
the
exploration
and
exploitation
of
natural
gas,
which
is
not
exclusive
to
the
U.S.
company.
In
2002,
the
then
president,
Abel
Pacheco,
established
a
moratorium
on
oil
exploration
and
in
2003
struck
down
a
U.S.
concession
to
Harken
Costa
Rica
Holdings,
resulting
in
the
state
currently
facing
a
lawsuit
that
has
not
been
resolved.
Pacheco,
who
is
retired
from
public
life,
said
that
he
will
be
"active
for
this
new
struggle"
because
in
its
opinion,
the
primary
activity
of
the
country
should
be
tourism
and
this
is
crucial
for
the
protection
of
nature.
Pacheco
said
publicly
on
Thursday,
"I
am
glad
I am
still
alive
to
confirm
my
signing
of
the
moratorium"
after
it
was
discovered
that
the
document
had
gone
missing
from
the
Casa
Presidencial
files.
Pacecho
attributed
the
files
going
missing
to "duendes"
(elves)
that
live
at
Casa
Presidencial.
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Source
Apdo. 2133-1000, San José, Costa
Rica
Tel: (506) 2231 3205 / (506) 8399
9642
Fax: (506) 2232 6337
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