Deputies approve bill that allows foreign companies to exploit oil in the country

Santo Domingo—After a first discussion, the Chamber of Deputies approved this Friday a legislative modification that will allow foreign companies to explore, exploit, and benefit from oil deposits and their derivatives registered in the country.

The piece, deposited by Deputy Eduviges Bautista, only modified Article 4 of Law 4532, which regulates the exploitation and benefits to individuals obtained through the use of this organic compound and other hydrocarbons.

“Dominicans and Dominican societies will be able to obtain the right to explore, exploit, and benefit from the deposits. The same rights may be granted to foreigners through national or foreign legal persons, of a private, public or mixed nature. In all cases, the contract or concession involved will be governed by the legislation of the Dominican Republic in relation to the rights granted,” indicates the variation in the articles.

In the document, Deputy Bautista considered that it is in the Dominican State’s interest to promote exploration and exploitation activities of hydrocarbons and natural gas due to the economic growth that it would generate for the system.

For this reason, the project seeks to promote the cooperation, investment, and participation of foreign governments and individuals in the country’s economic activities.

The deputies must still approve the bill in the second reading and send it to the Senate of the Republic for the corresponding study.

Oil in the DR

According to the third investigation report of the Dominican Oil Refinery (Refidomsa), 543 million barrels of oil are “probable” in at least four oil basins in the Dominican Republic, but only 74.3 million, or 13.68%, can be recovered.

The investigation has confirmed the existence of hydrocarbons in the country. However, the quality of that 13.68% of salvageable oil has not yet been determined, so it is unknown if it has the necessary quality for its exploitation.

The general manager of Refidomsa, Yamilly López, told Listín Diario that information about the country’s hydrocarbons “opens a path towards determining the quality” of the 74.3 million barrels of recoverable oil.

The oil basins studied are located in Azua, where the research team determined 38 million original barrels and 5.7 million recoverable barrels, and Cibao Occidental, where there are 203 million barrels and 30 million recoverable.

In Cibao Oriental, which has 11 million barrels and 1.6 million recoverable, and in the Enriquillo basin, where there are 246 million barrels, only 37 million are recoverable, for a total of 543 million.