Belmopan,Belize 11 January (Belizean.com) Belize will make its first export of crude oil to the USA later this week following the discovery of oil in commercial quantities late last year.
For the past nine days, tanker trucks have been transporting thousands of barrels of Belizean oil from wells in the Spanish Lookout area of Western Belize to the Big Creek port to fill a forty-five thousand barrel barge waiting in the harbour. From there it will be shipped to Texas for refining.
Belize Natural Energy officials told the media today that the first well, Michael Usher Number One, is producing approximately eight hundred barrels a day while Usher Two is flowing at a rate of one thousand barrels a day. Production testing is being done on these wells, and the oil extracted is what is being exported to the USA. Two more wells are now being drilled. And five other companies have applied for licenses to drill for oil in other parts of Belize.
According to Andre Cho, an official in he Belize Petroleum Office, the Belize Sweet Crude Light oil is similar in quality to the west Texas intermediate crude oil, which at this time is selling for about sixty-two U.S. dollars per.
Belize has no oil refinery, but the crude oil is of such a high quality that at least one gasoline station is selling Belize Sweet Light Crude at US$1.80 a gallon. Some motorists are blending the oil and diesel half and half to run their diesel powered vehicles. Some larger engines, like those in large trucks and heavy equipment, are using the oil without any mixing
AmbergrisCaye.com 
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