In oil, gas concessions ´Dominican Republic lives in thestone age´

Santo Domingo.- Energyand Mines minister Antonio Isa Conde on Monday said once the National HydrocarbonsExploration Database is concluded concessions will only be awarded through publicand transparent tenders.

Isa, speaking in the DominicanRepublic Mining-Oil Chamber luncheon, revealed that a new Texas University seismicstudy in national territory has been incorporated to the database.

The official stressedthe study´s estimated cost of US$13 million, a figure he affirms exceeds the Ministry´s2016 budget, but which h is agency obtained "without spending apenny."

The official saidobtaining the study is part of the Ministry´s plan to retrieve results fromseismic surveys conducted across the country in past decades, which had cost millionswithout the Dominican government demanding its right to get copies with theresults.

Isa added that when it comes to oil and gas concessions, “Dominican Republic lives in the stone age.”