The strike and demonstrations staged by environmental activists and Amazonian communities in Ecuador’s oil-rich provinces of Orellana and Sucumbios ended early Monday, but settlement came at a cost and serves as a reminder that nothing should be taken for granted as the country proceeds with its heavy crude oil pipeline (OCP) project.
At least one demonstrator was killed, a Kerr-McGee oil pipeline valve was damaged, and other firms’ wells were occupied. About 40,000 barrels per day of the area’s 190,000 b/d crude production was lost, while oil companies suffered losses of more than $3 million, the government said. Separately, the OCP consortium said it lost $2 million over a 54-day period during which activists had halted pipeline construction.
In agreeing to end the protests, local leaders extracted millions of dollars of development assistance from the Ecuadorian government and the builder of the OCP, who agreed to make capital improvements to boost electricity generation, finance coffee plantation upgrades, and provide $15 million in agricultural credits.
But though the disruption may be over and the military has since withdrawn from the area, opposition to the route of the 450,000 barrel-per-day pipeline – which is to pass through ecologically sensitive Mindo rain forest habitats – is still there. Nonetheless, the strike-ending agreements include a provision for OCP to restart road work in the two provinces, a necessary preparation for pipeline construction.
Ecuador’s President Gustavo Noboa imposed a state of emergency in the two provinces, and brought in the military last week to keep the oil flowing and rein in demonstrators (OD Feb.28,p6). The International Red Cross and demonstrators said that troops had killed three protesters, but the government said only one – a 27-year-old man – died.
In the effort to end the standoff in the jungle, the ministry of energy pushed the consortium members to hold a working breakfast with Maximo Abad, the mayor of the key town of Lago Agrio. After the meeting, Abad sent the consortium a letter demanding $12 million worth of public works, including a municipal market for $2 million, an addition to the city hall, the paving of town roads, and projects involving water, agriculture, and sanitation – all to be done under tight deadlines. Other communities were less demanding but had their own agendas.
It was not clear how many of the demands will be met, but there are to be two more meetings within the next two weeks, at which such issues as health care and education for the communities will be discussed. The OCP consortium comprises Alberta Energy, US Occidental, Perez Companc (Pecom Energia), Repsol YPF, ENI, French Perenco, and Argentine Techint.
