The Prime Minister also discussed the situation with Offshore drilling. As has been widely aired on this newscast - there is a large, organized body of opposition to offshore drilling, but yesterday the Prime Minister said he isn't convinced one way or the other.
Hon. Dean Barrow, Prime Minister
"My position in terms of offshore drilling remains the same and that is that there is no position currently. We are looking at all that you people say, all that the advocates against offshore drilling, all that those advocates say, we are looking what is being given to us by our own experts and that the appropriate time a decision will have to be made. I am telling you that we are not going to lightly ignore written contracts, this is not a Michael Aschroft type scenario, these are legitimate contracts, not outlaw agreements and we simply can't walk away from those agreements. If OCEANA and you people might find the monies that would allow us to pay off the concessionaires then you might have an even more compelling case but we make no formal decision, no final decision immediately because we don't have to. Nobody is close enough to being able to drill offshore for us to be forced into be making a decision. When that time comes hopefully we would have collected all the material and would have put ourselves in a position to make a proper informed decision."
And while offshore drilling is still undecided, The PM says the government does have a hard and fast position on oil drilling in the National Parks on land and that is that it should be permitted.
He says he is hopeful that US Capital Energy will be able to proceed and drill for oil in the Sarstun Temash National Park.
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