Costa Ricans mull possible oil referendum

Costa Ricans could get the chance to vote on the future of their country’s oil and gas exploration policy after a court on Friday authorized pro-exploration activists to gather signatures for what would be only the second referendum in its history.

The Central American country started efforts to ban its exploration in 2002 under President Abel Pacheco. This ban was supposed to expire in 2014 but later extended until 2050, Reuters reports.