It's been much in the news since Friday that OCEANA lashed out at the government over its plans to conduct seismic testing on Belize's Ocean floor.
It's a move that the Prime Minister has characterized as an overreaction saying that the tests would be about gauging what we have to better negotiate its conservation.
And today the leader of the opposition Shyne Barrow added his voice to the fray saying that he in fact agrees with the Prime Minister's quote: "reasonable" position on seismic testing and that he would be inclined to support it.
But he also clarified that in line with his party's press release dated Monday, November 21st 2022 The United Democratic Party's position is that quote: " Any lifting of restrictions on offshore oil exploration must be approved by the people of Belize through a referendum."
Here's more from the LOO's Press conference earlier today.
Shyne Barrow, Leader of the Opposition
"Whereas the UDP administration enacted a moratorium on offshore drilling after a robust campaign by Oceana and now 30,000 people signing a mock referendum, I believe that any reversal of the moratorium especially given our conservation treaty legislation that we recently enacted that wiped away 500 million dollars of our debt believe any reversal, any alteration of that position needs to be taken to the people, that is my position but I will say on record I don't usually agree with the Prime Minister but I can understand where he is coming from as far as seismic testing, I believe again it depends on the credibility that you give him and if he is being truthful but I will give him the benefit of the doubt because the idea that he presents is reasonable and it is one that I Shyne Barrow am inclined to support and many of my colleagues in the UDP are inclined in considering the seismic testing in the vein of let us see what we have, do we have 100 billion dollars worth of oil, and if we have 100 billion or 1 billion, whatever it is we can leverage that in our negations with the G20 and these other entities, I believe that is a reasonable opinion and I would be inclined to support seismic testing for that purpose to see what it is we have so that we could get more for not engaging in offshore drilling that is my personal view."
But while Barrow is inclined to agree with the testing, the UDP's Monday press release condemned what it inexplicably called, quote, government's unilateral decision to reverse a National Assembly approved moratorium on offshore oil exploration in Belizean waters."
