The administration of President Daniel Ortega has granted oil exploration and drilling permits to a couple of European firms. According to a report by Radio Columbia in Costa Rica, Nicaragua’s official news media outlet 19 Digital made the announcement during a meeting between Francisco Lopez, president of state-owned energy giant Petronic and representatives from British firm Geoex and Statoil from Norway.

 

According to Mt. Lopez, Geoex will perform a feasibility study for potential oil exploration and drilling in the Pacific Ocean. This study would cover 32,000 km2 of oceanic surface. Statoil will also conduct a study on the potential exploration and exploitation of fossil fuels in Nicaragua. A representative from Geoex explained that Nicaragua’s intention of drilling for oil in its Pacific Ocean was a historic step taken by the Central American nation.

 

Furthermore, Nicaraguan online news daily La Jornada reported on a high-level meeting between Chinese firm HNKD, which is in charge of developing the quixotic Nicaragua Interoceanic Canal, and a business mission from The Kingdom of the Netherlands. The Dutch mission consisted of 12 companies interested in bidding in some of the lucrative contracts that the canal project offer, and the opportunities are numerous: from port security to water management and from heavy equipment operation to human resources. The meeting was presided by Laureano Ortega Murillo, son of President Ortega.

 

The announcements by Nicaragua arrive in the wake of comments by Costa Rica’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Manuel Gonzalez, who stated that diplomatic relations between the two countries are quite chilly at the moment due to the ongoing cases before the International Court of Justice in The Hague with regard to the Google Maps Invasion of 2010 and subsequent incursions into our country by Nicaraguan soldiers. It just so happens that one of the cases before the International Court is a complaint by Costa Rica about Nicaragua offering up contested territory for oil exploration. Similar complaints against Nicaragua have been lodged by Colombia and Jamaica.