Government wants to “understand extent of offshore non-renewable economic resources;” says no agreements have been made

By Aaron Humes: Only hours after the announcement by Oceana Belize of a drive for signatures to petition it for a referendum to obtain Belizeans’ views on any and all activities related to offshore drilling, the Government of Belize responded to say that it is not abandoning its conservation plans entirely for “black gold.”

The Government says officially that “it has not entered into any agreements for seismic studies nor for oil exploration in offshore areas” and promises to remain responsible and wise in the management of natural capital resources and positioning these in its vision for economic growth and realization of its goals under #PlanBelize.

As regards the September 9 meeting between Prime Minister John Briceno and Senator Janelle Chanona of Oceana, the Government says the former “reiterated the need to understand the extent of Belize’s offshore non-renewable economic resources in order to have an informed strategy on their potential for leveraging, given the national direction towards decarbonization and nature-based economy,” and that he restated Government’s commitment to “allow the determination of such an important policy to be people-centered,” indirectly blessing a potential referendum.

But it feels Oceana’s reaction has been “regrettable” considering its access with the administration and its commitment to being open and transparent and to have a clear and unified approach to this issue.

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