For many years, teams of geologists have studied the southern part of the island, fueling the dream that there may be a rich deposit of oil under the southern part of the island. In the economic section of today’s Listin Diario, the dream is revisited. According to the report filed by Jairon Severino, the Dominican Republic is nearing the commercial exploitation of the oil deposits near Azua on the South Coast. The report claims that 3 of the 14 wells have shown flows of oil that could be exploited. Andres Alba, the manager for Murfing Dominicana, says there are sufficient indicators to suggest a large quantity of exploitable petroleum beneath the Dominican soil. Nevertheless, Raul Brito, the Murfing Drilling Company envoy, says that it is necessary to wait a while longer. Severino indicates that there is sufficient pressure for oil to stream 100 feet into the air at two of the three flowing wells. With an investment of US$10 million, Alba feels that Murfing knows it will get its money back. The conservative stance of the Murfing spokesman is more consistent with the history of oil exploration in the Dominican Republic, and many of the population remember the famous speech made by President Guzman, when he announced the oil strike that never occurred. One encouraging note is that the “Maleno” oil has been found at a relatively shallow depth of 1,100 feet and the “Charco Largo” oil was found at over 7,000 feet.