Costa Rica holds on to oil moratorium despite growing legal problems. Challenge by US-based Mallon Oil Company

Costa Rica is holding on to a moratorium on oil and gas exploration in its waters, despite growing legal problems.

US-based Mallon Oil Company presented Costa Rica’s Constitutional Court on Sept. 7 with two injunctions in an effort to force the country’s government to allow the Denver-based company to explore and potentially drill for oil and natural gas off of the northern Pacific Coast.

But in August, President Laura Chinchilla’s government, through the Environment, Energy and Telecommunications Ministry, issued a three-year moratorium on oil and gas exploration and exploitation. The same environment minister who issued the moratorium two months ago had awarded the permit to Mallon in 2000.

Original source: Latinamerica Press