Compromise allows oil company to work in Belmopan

Reports out of Belmopan tonight are that the Department of the Environment and Belize Natural Energy have struck a compromise following citizen complaints against oil exploration within the city limits. According to a letter to the company from Chief Environmental Officer Martin Alegria, B.N.E. has been granted “environmental clearance … subsequent to the signing on June nineteenth of the Envornmental Compliance Plan prepared by the Department of Environment.” This afternoon Alegria told News Five that permission was granted mainly because the B.N.E. equipment was already at a depth of eight hundred feet when last Friday’s stop order was issued to the company. With that in mind, D.O.E. took the decision to allow drilling to continue as part of a testing phase to see what, if anything is at the bottom of the well. The company now has until Monday to do just that, under strict environmental constraints such as being prepared for possible blow outs, a long list of safety measures for workers and nearby residents as well as the replacement of any top soil removed during operations. We understand tonight that B.N.E. is hoping to test levels near two thousand feet below the surface. Alegria says that will be done by setting off underground explosions at depths not explored by the previous company. If the well does prove to have oil, there will be a twenty four hour period to verify the site’s flow rate but hit or miss, the well will be decommissioned and safely abandoned. There are three old oil wells in Belmopan: Roaring Creek number two in Riviera, Eagle one near the Water Treatment Plant and a third near the former garbage dump site just outside the city on the Hummingbird Highway. Alegria says if, based on their tests on the old wells, B.N.E. determines it is feasible to drill for oil in Belmopan, they will need to complete an Environmental Impact Assessment for the entire area before drilling can commence.