Costa Rica to reinforce oil drilling ban

Costa Rica's government will reinforce a ban on hydrocarbons exploration to support its 2050 decarbonization pledge, the government said.

In 2002, a presidential decree imposed a moratorium on exploration until 2050, but the government wants to make this a law to block a future president from reversing it.

The government of President Carlos Alvarado controls congress, and the legislation is intended "to consolidate the country's international leadership in environmental matters," it said.

Costa Rica generated 99.7pc of its electricity from renewable sources in 2020, the sixth consecutive year in which no more than 2pc of the Central American country's power has come from imported fossil fuels, according to official figures.

The legislation underpins the country's plan for converting all forms of transportation to electricity from renewables by 2050, according to state-owned power utility ICE.

The country produced 72pc of its electricity from hydropower in 2020, with 14.9pc from geothermal sources, 12pc from wind and the remainder from biomass and solar, according to ICE.

The country's installed generating capacity is 3,150MW to meet demand of 2,500MW.

Costa Rica still relies on imported motor fuel, mainly from the US and Mexico. The country imported 22,500 b/d of gasoline in 2020, 2pc less than in 2019, while diesel imports of 20,100 b/d were little changed, according to official figures.

Costa Rica is far ahead of neighboring Central American countries in greening its economy. Most still rely on imported fuel oil and diesel to complement hydro generation, but some are incorporating natural gas to replace the liquid fuels.

Panama already has an LNG terminal led by US utility AES. In Nicaragua, US LNG firm New Fortress Energy is close to launching a gas-to-power complex that will deliver 300MW for the national grid. El Salvador is also counting on a regasification terminal currently under construction to convert part of its matrix to gas.

By Canute James