Ecuador Offers to Keep Oil Buried for a Fee

This MSNBC.com article discusses plans by the Ecuadorian government to leave potentially a billion barrels of oil underground in exchange for $350 million a year from wealthy countries. Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa says that number represents half of the potential earnings Ecuador could earn from the oil, and the sacrifice of that income would be to ensure the sanctity of Yasuni National Park and its endangered species.

“But critics wonder if the politically unstable Ecuador, which relies on oil for nearly half of its export revenues, can keep this promise to the international community or whether authorities are trying to have their cake and eat it too.”

This story has many sides at play. On the one hand, Ecuador is a country where six out of 10 people are poor and oil accounts for half of the exports. Additionally, environmentalists are thrilled that a country will preserve wildlife while sacrificing revenue and believe that paying a yearly fee for this is a no-brainer.

But despite the large stature of the number one billion, sources say that is only enough oil for 12 days of crude oil consumption. Large countries who are already debating the lack of oil supply would no doubt want this oil (regardless of how much there is), so would they be willing to pay a yearly premium to make sure it is NOT tapped for the sake of the environment?