The Minister of Commerce and Industry (MICI), Roberto Henríquez, estimated that for the next 20 years, an extraction equivalent to US$90 billion would leave Panama with US$20 billion in royalties and income tax.

The Panamanian province of Darién has an oil deposit of considerable size, according to a study released by the Minister of Commerce and Industry (MICI), Roberto Henríquez.

"A study carried out by Venezuelan experts and financed by the Andean Development Corporation to investigate whether or not there was oil in Panama and also to establish whether it was profitable confirmed the news that I am announcing today (Tuesday)," he told the morning edition. from Telemetro Reporta.

An extraction of US$90 billion is estimated for the next 20 years, which would leave Panama with US$20 billion in royalties and income tax.

He added that at this time Panama is in an initial stage because it is necessary to deepen some studies and carry out a tender.

Minister Henríquez said that the land must once again be the property of the State and turn it into a park as originally planned.

This Thursday the Cabinet Council will meet to discuss the most appropriate legal form to reverse the land.

According to the Secretariat, in recent years in Panama more than 36 wells have been drilled for research of this type in a framework of almost 10 thousand square kilometers.

* With information from El Economista and La Estrella de Panamá.