From SanPedroScoop...
Once a private playground built by Kentucky coal titan Larry Addington, the caye (with the first golf course in Belize) has sat largely idle and for sale for the last decade�until recently. Reports have been circulating that a "Mexican investment group" purchased Caye Chapel for development. There has been lots of buzz - could a "Four Seasons Resort" finally be coming to Belize?
This past weekend, as the rest of the country readied itself for The Easter festivities, a meeting took place on Caye Chapel.
Present were representatives from PEMEX, Impresub, representatives from Belize's Ministry of Energy, Science, Technology and Public Utilities, Minister of Natural Resources Gasper Vega, Minister of Tourism Manuel Heredia and Prime Minister Dean Barrow himself.
It appears 1,500 thread-count linens and butler served mimosas are NOT in store for Caye Chapel. So what is you ask?
AN OIL REFINERY.
That's right, a feasibility study is already underway. As many have said, Belize's oil: Let's do it right.
Apparently, much of the criteria required for constructing and operating a local refinery is ALREADY present on Caye Chapel. The island has its own infrastructure of electricity and water production, a deep-water marina and even an airstrip. Geographically, it sits equidistant between the oil reserves and the mainland of Belize, an easily bridged-by-pipeline distance away.
If all goes according to plans, Belize could be producing its own gas and oil within 3 to 5 years - a MASSIVE jump towards Belize's economic independence.
When asked of the potential environmental and aesthetic impact of having what could be up to a half-dozen oil platforms dotting our eastern horizon, Minister of Tourism the Honorable Manuel Heredia commented "Thank you. We the UDP, appreciate your thanks. Belize is a jewel. Our jewel. People were worried about how cruise ships might affect Belize."
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