Financing turned down for natural gas drilling
By MICHAEL DAVIS
Copyright 2003 Houston Chronicle
The Export-Import Bank of the United States on Thursday denied to grant financing for a $1.6 billion natural gas development project in a rain forest in Peru led by Dallas-based Hunt Oil.
The thumbs down on financing is the latest hurdle for Peru's Camisea project, which includes drilling sites and dual pipelines to the coast.
This South American country has been trying for years to develop and exploit the huge gas reserves in the field, believed to hold some 13 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, to help build its economy.
The problem is, the natural gas project faced intense opposition because it is under some of the most pristine rain forest in the Peruvian Amazon, home to several indigenous peoples, many of whom live in isolation in a specially recognized protected area.
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