Spanish
Santo Domingo. - The Dominican Republic's hydrocarbon sector closed 2025 with significant advances in technical strengthening, regulatory updates, and the generation of strategic scientific information, laying solid foundations for a more precise, transparent exploration aligned with international standards, reported the Minister of Energy and Mines, Joel Santos.
He indicated that during the recently concluded year, the Dominican Government took a decisive step in the institutional and legal field with the enactment of Law 37-25 on Hydrocarbons, which modernizes the regulatory framework in force since 1956. "This legislation harmonizes the exploration and exploitation of hydrocarbons with the Constitution and the current challenges of the energy sector, establishes more competitive conditions to attract national and international investment and provides for a minimum participation of Dominican capital in the projects," he specified.You can also read: Edesur adds 70 new recharge points for prepaid customers
Minister Santos said that, in parallel, the country advanced in strengthening its scientific infrastructure, with the completion of an ambitious national gravimetric dosing campaign, executed between December 2024 and May 2025. "This project allowed us to incorporate more than 600 new gravity measurements, improve the resolution of gravimetric models, and generate an updated Bouguer anomaly map, a key input for identifying underground structures with oil potential and reducing exploratory uncertainty," he said. The head of Energy and Mines highlighted the boost to specialized training of human capital, with the realization of an international workshop on gravimetry, developed by the Ministry of Energy and Mines, together with regional organizations and international experts. He specified that the conference brought together specialists from six Latin American countries and allowed for the updating of knowledge on gravity measurements, subsoil density analysis, and geophysical interpretation, fundamental tools for hydrocarbon exploration. ExplorationIn terms of exploration, Minister Santos highlighted the signing of a production sharing agreement with the Global Min consortium, resulting from the First Oil Round, which grants exploration rights for eleven years in blocks CB1 and CB2 of the Cibao basin. The scheme delegates the investment, technology, and execution of operations to the private sector, without compromising the State's fiscal resources. "These advances are in addition to the results of the Geochemical Study of Terrestrial Sedimentary Basins and Oil Seeps, prepared by the international firm Geolog Technologies with the support of national technicians," he specified. The report, he said, confirmed the existence of favorable geological conditions for oil systems in different regions of the country, particularly in the Cibao basins and the Southern region, providing a clearer map of the national hydrocarbon potential, although without implying immediate commercial reserves. In economic terms, Santos reported that between January and November 2025, there was a year-on-year reduction of 5.5% in the value of fuel imports during the third quarter of the year, reflecting a context of greater efficiency and better management of the energy sector. "Between January and November 2025, we strengthened the country's technical, scientific, and regulatory capacity through strategic projects, specialized studies, and the training of human capital," the minister emphasized, while stating that these advances position the Dominican Republic in better conditions to attract investment, reduce exploratory risks, and move towards a responsible development of the hydrocarbons sector. With these results, the Ministry of Energy and Mines concludes 2025 by consolidating an approach based on robust scientific information, institutional strengthening, and transparency, fundamental pillars for the sustainable development of the national energy sector.
