Belize government pans word of oil discovery

Feb. 14, 2012
The Belize Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment has refuted the claim of an oil discovery by Treaty Energy Corp., New Orleans, at Treaty’s San Juan-2 exploratory well in southern Belize.

The Belize Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment has refuted the claim of an oil discovery by Treaty Energy Corp., New Orleans, at Treaty’s San Juan-2 exploratory well in southern Belize.

The ministry termed “false and misleading” a press release the company issued on Jan. 30, 2012. The release said that drilling had “defined the producing zone to be 1,235-90 ft.”

Treaty Energy said cuttings from San Juan-2, near Independence Village in the Stann Creek District and its first well in Belize, had “characteristics … similar to some of the great oil producing zones in Texas, specifically the Ellenburger Lime, Hope Lime, Caddo Lime, Edwards Lime, etc.”

The company said it planned to cement 4-1/2-in. tubing, perforate, and bring the well on line.

The ministry said, “An inspection conducted on the mudlog and rock cuttings from the well, by the Geology and Petroleum Department, confirmed only minute traces of tar which is commonly observed in rock formations in many wells previously drilled in Belize that were not commercial.”

No live oil in large amounts was observed in the cuttings, the ministry said.

“The Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment assures the general public that all confirmation of oil discoveries will be declared by the Government of Belize after proper testing and appraisal. The government did not endorse the declaration by Treaty Energy and therefore its press release was unauthorized.”

Independence Village is about 75 miles southeast of the Spanish Lookout area, where Belize Natural Energy Ltd. made the country’s first commercial oil discovery in 2006 (OGJ Online, Feb. 24, 2006).