…While work continues to exploit local oil find

And while Belize seeks relief from Venezuela, back at home at Spanish Lookout there is some progress to report on our as yet unmeasured petroleum reserves. According to Sheila McCaffrey, director of Belize Natural Energy, a mini tank farm is now being completed at the site of their first well and flow testing will begin in the next two weeks. A second well has been sunk about a mile and a half from the first and core samples taken from that effort are now being analyzed. A third well is planned for the near future.

According to McCaffrey, what distinguishes the oil at Spanish Lookout from that found in both Mexico and Guatemala is its unusually high quality. This opens up a wide range of possibilities for how to use the oil, particularly if the quantities eventually found do not justify massive investments in pipelines or refineries. Reports from the area indicate that a number of Spanish Lookout residents are successfully using the light crude in varying proportions in their diesel powered pickups and tractors.

Intensive research is also being conducted on how the petroleum could be used to fuel a power plant that would supply electricity to the national grid, a move that could save the nation significant amounts of scarce foreign exchange.