There is no oil and gas exploration in the Dominican Republic. APA explored the San Pedro de Macorís basin using seismic methods, but apparently the findings were not satisfactory, and the company had to pay fishermen because of the lack of work. Recently, Refinería Dominicana, SA, a public company, and Pedro Henríquez Ureña University conducted an exploration study, identifying potential oil reserves in Dominican territory. In addition, the government signed an agreement with the government of Guyana to explore for gas and install an oil refinery in Guyana. The plan is to import large quantities of natural gas into the DR to power electricity generation projects in the north of the country. Coal is also still used in some thermal power plants.