Dominican Republic calls Gazprom to search for oil, gas on shelf
MOSCOW. Feb 14 (Interfax) - The Dominican Republic invites Russian gas giant Gazprom to take a role in geological surveying for oil and gas on the Haitian shelf and in electric power projects.
Gazprom International's press service reports a delegation has had talks on prospective projects in the Dominican Republic during a working visit to the republic last week.
The delegation met for talks with National Energy Commission President Enrique Ramirez, during which he said that the republic is experiencing a power shortage of 2,000-2,300 mWt. Due to this, the Dominicans are working out a new energy strategy aimed at creating a system of generation and distribution and searching out and prospecting the country's own deposits of hydrocarbons. "We'd like to see your company in the Dominican Republic. We're ready to do everything necessary to ensure normal operations for you and the security of your investments," Ramirez is reported as saying.
During the delegation's visit, there was also a meeting with a group of deputies from the republic's National Congress led by the chairman of the parliamentary energy commission Pelegrin Seman. The deputies pointed out that the republic's dependence on imported hydrocarbons is unacceptably high. In order to reduce that dependence, parliament is working up legislation in the field of regulating energy and subsurface resource usage. The bills encompass three areas: the search for hydrocarbon strata on and off shore, the development of renewable sources of energy, and improving the efficiency of energy usage.
The deputies voiced the hope that Gazprom International would take steps in response regarding projects in the field of electric power and offer proposals for the search for oil and gas on the Haitian island shelf.
During its visit, the Gazprom International delegation toured electric power stations on Santo Domingo, Puetra Plata, and Punta Cana. The delegation's members familiarized themselves with the technical state of the facilities, and the Russian specialists discussed the possibility of modernizing them and shifting them to the use of gas.