The government has granted concessions to three exploration companies to drill for petroleum and natural gas within the country?s borders as well as offshore. Commerce and Industry Minister, Angel Lockward, announced that long-standing contracts with Murfin Corporation, Maleno Corporation and Once Once Corporation have been renegotiated and, as a result, the three have committed to launching exploration within sixty days. The Maleno concession is located in Independencia and Elias Pi?a Provinces, the Murfin concession extends through Azua and La Altagracia Provinces, as well as the National District (Santo Domingo), while Once Once?s concession is in Duarte Province. Listin Diario reports that a team of experts from Murfin and Maleno, headed by geologist Steve Pierce, has conducted preliminary studies indicating a reserve of 310 million barrels in the Maleno concession. The team reported to the General Mining Directorate that a further deposit of 350 million barrels of petroleum may lie offshore in the Bay of Ocoa, and that 200 billion cubic feet of natural gas might exist in Boca Cachon in the Enriquillo Basin.
