Exploration shines a ray of sunshine on Honduras

摘要

In a divergence from the norm, exploration for oil and gas in Central America has recently shifted from Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Guatemala to Honduras. The reason for the shift in focus in Central America could be from default as much as from a concerted initiative. The geology certainly merits an aggressive look, and the legislative issues have been resolved (one hopes) with a new petroleum code in Honduras. A bid round offering undesignated offshore blocks has been in the planning stages on and off since 2001, with the latest announcement putting the launch some time in 2010. The ongoing political situation in the country, however, puts this bid round in serious jeopardy. In June 2009, a coup ousted President Manuel Zelaya from power and installed an interim government with Roberto Micheletti as president. Due to pressing issues accompanying this move and the uncertainty of who is in power and for how long, it would appear that the launch of a bid round is not of primary importance at this time.