Energy and Mines Ministry signs contract with company to facilitate oil exploration in Dominican Republic

This is an automated translation of the original MEM release published in Spanish.

The contract was signed by Antonio Almonte, Minister of Energy and Mines, and Andrea Guglielmetti, Regional Manager for America of Geolog Surface Logging DMCC, the winning company of the tender carried out for these purposes.

The international public bidding process to carry out this geochemical study began on October 14 and was successfully concluded on November 29. Details of the bidding process can be found on the MEM transparency portal.

In this study, a geochemical campaign will be carried out to collect samples of rocks and fluids with hydrocarbons in terrestrial sedimentary basins, they will be characterized in the laboratory and later experts in the area of hydrocarbon exploration will carry out the interpretation.

After the tender, the Tender Committee for hydrocarbon activities awarded the geochemical study to Geolog Surface Logging DMCC, for US$498,500 with taxes included.

Representing the Deputy Minister of Hydrocarbons, Walkiria Caamaño, was Joan Fernández, director of Exploration, Import and Use of Hydrocarbons, and Nisael Dirocié, director of Exploration and Production of Hydrocarbons, who explained that "the realization of this study comes to support the efforts made by the country to increase the geological knowledge of our sedimentary basins, thus reducing the uncertainty perceived by hydrocarbon exploration companies and, at the same time, supporting future competitive processes for assigning areas for the exploration and production of oil and gas in the country.”

“The idea with this contract is to carry out a geochemical study in the sedimentary basins of the country. In it, a geochemical campaign will be carried out in which a study of samples will be carried out, then these samples will be taken to a laboratory to carry out characterizations and these characterizations will give us an idea of how the geology of these basins is composed,” explained the engineer Dirocié.

These hydrocarbon exploration activities, he said, will support the efforts that the Dominican Republic is making to increase the technical knowledge of our sedimentary basins.

The members of the Tender Committee for hydrocarbon activities were present: Freddy Lara, adviser and chairs; Matilde Balcácer, legal director; Tirso Peña, Financial Director; Joan Fernández, director of Regulation, Import and Use of Hydrocarbons, and Luís Torres, responsible for Hydrocarbons.

Also present were the experts Jesús Rodríguez, from the National Geological Service, Jacqueline Peña, notary; and the experts from the Legal Department of the MEM, Yanimeh Mora and Juan Luis Villanueva.