Oil Exploration

Oil exploration by foreign companies in Honduras's La Mosquitia region has split Miskito communities, with one faction accepting a promised $400,000 annual payment for development while others claim they were deceived during the consultation process and fear damage to fishing resources.

Honduras has renewed environmental permits for petroleum exploration off the coast of La Mosquitia in Gracias a Dios, extending operations by High Power Petroleum Honduras across 17,628 square kilometers until April 2031, a decision that has divided local Miskito communities over environmental and development concerns.

Honduras granted environmental approval for seismic surveying off La Moskitia to Talos Energy and CaribX, but indigenous and Afro-Caribbean organizations say the decision bypassed required consultation with Miskito, Garífuna, Pech, and Tawahka communities about potential environmental and territorial impacts.

Congresswoman Erika Urtecho from Gracias a Dios is demanding the government consult with indigenous and Afro-Caribbean communities under ILO Convention 169 before proceeding with oil-exploration technical work in La Mosquitia, citing concerns from local fishers and divers.

Honduras granted a 2013 oil concession covering 35,256 square kilometers of Caribbean waters in La Moskitia, a UNESCO World Heritage site, without consulting the four indigenous peoples living there, violating international law.

CaribX (UK) Limited, a British company with no prior oil experience, holds 55% of a hydrocarbon-exploration concession in Honduras's Moskitia as the non-operator alongside Bermuda-based H2P as the 45% operator, yet six years of exploration results remain undisclosed to the public.