For quite a long time the possibility of oil exploration on Costa Rican territory had haunted the collective minds of conservationists and Eco tourist companies; they firmly believe that this initiative is more likely to hurt the image of the country as a paradise of green forests, crystal clear waters, and wild animals.

Back in 1998 the environmentalists won the first round as they pressured former Costa Rican president Abel Pacheco to cancel a 1998 concession for oil exploration the government had granted to Houston based Harken Energy Corporation.

This year however the exploration for oil in C.R. is a new reality, as Costa Rica and China officially announced that they have agreed to jointly explore for oil and natural gas in the Central American country.

Even though the environmentalists are quite displeased, the initiative encompasses several benefits for the country, such as to improve the refining process, develop new petrol products (like lubricants), as well as training employees to put the new processes in action; therefore the local government is doing everything in their power to make this project a complete success.

Environment Minister Roberto Dobles publicly announced China National Oil and the Gas Exploration & Development Corporation, as the ones in charge of putting the action plan in place. He also added that it may be four to six years before the project gets started and that the exploration process in general is not as environmentally risky as other aspects of the petroleum industry.

“We have the responsibility to ensure the development of the country, always meeting strict environmental standards,” he said.

Costa Rica is considered to be one of the 20 countries with greatest biodiversity in the world; and the more than 500,000 species that are found in its territory represent nearly 4% of the total species estimated worldwide. So Mr. Dobles knows that the task ahead of him is certainly demanding, for not only the eyes of the environmentalist are on his shoulders; but also those of future project developers.

I will be following this closely.