Former Infrastructure Minister of Israel Yaakov Mimran, speaking at the Santo Domingo Institute of Technology (INTEC), told Dominican audiences on Friday, 12 October that they should be optimistic about future gas and oil discoveries. He spoke of the real potential for large offshore gas and petroleum deposits.
As reported in El Caribe, he said that all the essential requirements for the discovery of sources of hydrocarbons are here. These include source rocks, reservoir rocks, cap rocks, and the potential of geological structures. He said that there are large sedimentary basins within the Caribbean Plate, and also along the length of the plates there could be interesting complex structures.
The former director of mining for Israel gave the conference “Offshore Petroleum and Gas Explorations: A New Frontier” to students and general public at INTEC. The conference was sponsored by the National Authority of Maritime Affairs (Anamar) and the energy and maritime affairs commissions of the Chamber of Deputies.
“The Dominican Republic is in a similar situation as Israel before the great discoveries. The main difference between the two countries is that the zone where the DR is located is two and a quarter times larger than that of Israel and the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of the Dominican Republic is almost six times larger,” said Mimran, a geologist by training who was highly regarded for his work as Petroleum Supervisor in Israel from 2004-2011. Mimran retired last year after 43 years in public service in Israel and having been responsible for what is regarded as successful oil exploration policies of the Israeli government.
The EEZ is a seazone prescribed by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea over which a state has special rights over the exploration and use of marine resources. It stretches from the seaward edge of the state’s territorial sea out to 200 nautical miles from its coast.
http://www.intec.edu.do/acerca-de-intec/noticias-y-actividades/noticias/item/rd-tiene-potencial-para-exploracion-de-petroleo-y-gas-en-el-mar