A senior official of the Geology and Petroleum Department confirmed to Amandala today that four representatives of the Chinese Petroleum Corporation – Taiwan’s state-owned oil facility, visited Belize last week, when negotiations were finalized for petroleum exploration offshore Belize. The negotiations were between the company and top officials of the Geology and Petroleum Department.

Four representatives of CPC’s international investment arm - Overseas Petroleum and Investment Corporation (OPIC) – were instrumental in the talks.

The reps are due to return in about a month to finalize the paperwork – including the Production Sharing Agreement, which is still in draft form, the official told our newspaper.

Earlier this year Belize awarded OPIC an offshore exploration license for approximately 4,600 square kilometers, or 1,800 square miles, mostly in the southern and central part of Belize – one of the largest concession areas for oil exploration in Belize.

OPIC was represented in Belize by the manager of seismic, one of six vice presidents, and two of its attorneys.

Source: Amandala.com.bz