Los Angeles – Environmental activists chained themselves to an oil drum in front of Occidental Petroleum Co.’s headquarters here on Wednesday to protest the company’s plans to drill on land claimed by a Colombian tribe.
The protesters unfurled an anti-oil banner and set up a mock pipeline before several were detained for trespassing.
“At this time we have detained two females and one male but they haven’t been arrested yet,” a Los Angeles police spokeswoman said. Police estimated that 10 protesters chained themselves to an oil drum in front of the company building.
Occidental was not immediately available for comment.
About 30 protesters organized by Amazon Watch and the Action Resource Center staged the protest at the oil and gas company’s west Los Angeles headquarters.
In the past year, the organizations have staged several protests against Occidental, which plans to produce oil on land claimed by the U’wa tribe of northeastern Colombia.
The 5,000-member tribe has vowed to throw themselves off a cliff if Occidental begins a drilling program that has been deferred since last March.
(OXY.N) REUTERS