Guatemala to bet on natural gas

Guatemala is about to embark on a road that could end up giving it a new energy source, cheaper and "cleaner": natural gas.

Monday, April 21, 2008

Forty-five days from now it will call for bids to explore three areas in the Pacific Basin with a combined area of one million 406 thousand 674 hectares.
The Ministry of Energy and Mines is betting that natural gas and oil will be found in these areas.
The three projects - each involving an area of more than 400,000 hectares - will be undertaken jointly with El Salvador. They were announced last week in a joint statement by Guatemalan President Alvaro Colom and El Salvador's president, Antonio Saca.
Three other purely Guatemalan exploration projects are also on the drawing board - two in the northern province of Peten (Laguna Blanca and Cotzal) and one in Quiché (Piedras Blancas).

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