Peru Threatens to Revoke Hunt Oil’s Pipeline Concession After Repeated Spills in the Rainforest | Amazon Watch
Amazon Watch

Peru Threatens to Revoke Hunt Oil’s Pipeline Concession After Repeated Spills in the Rainforest

December 8, 2005 | For Immediate Release


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Peru’s Camisea Project Paralyzed by Fuel Spills and Indigenous River Blockade

(Lima, Peru) – Texas-based Hunt Oil’s consortium faces the suspension or loss of its concession to run a controversial, $1.6 billion, trans-Andean pipeline carrying gas from the Peruvian Amazon to the Pacific Coast. Four major liquid gas spills from the pipeline in just fifteen months of operation have prompted an emergency review by a joint technical commission from Peru’s Ministry of Energy and Mines (MEM) and energy regulator (OSINERG).

The latest spill dumped approximately 6,000 barrels of liquid gas into the indigenous Machiguenga Communal Reserve on November 24, an area of pristine tropical rainforests. In protest, hundreds of affected Machiguenga Indians have launched a river blockade, paralyzing construction for the second phase of the Camisea Gas Project. The blockade was due to continue into its fifth day today, with more than 2,500 local inhabitants now estimated to be participating.

The commission is due to resume formal deliberations Friday, December 9 on undertaking an independent audit of the entire 430-mile Camisea pipeline which potentially could shut down pipeline operations until the safety of the pipeline can be guaranteed. Unfavorable audit findings could result in suspension and/or the revocation of the concession from the consortium, Transportadora de Gas del Perú (TGP), of which Hunt Oil is the majority stakeholder and Buenos Aires-based Techint is the operator.

“In a few days, we will have the results of an audit of the Camisea pipelines, and these could lead to fines and even to the operator losing the concession if it failed to comply with the technical norms of the contract,” said Gustavo Navarro, Director of Hidrocarburos de Perú, the nation’s top energy official in an interview with Reuters.

“We’ll continue the non-violent blockade of the Urubamba River in order to pressure the government and the companies to take appropriate measures,” said Luis Vasquez Rios, protest spokesperson and president of CECONAMA, one of three indigenous organizations involved in the blockade. The Peruvian government is expected to travel to the region to meet with the communities on December 12.

Last week, seven environmental organizations sent a letter to Ray Hunt, CEO Hunt Oil blasting the Company for failing to prevent unnecessary harm to the rainforests and the communities of the Peruvian Amazon. It the letter, Amazon Watch, Oxfam America, Environmental Defense, SEEN, World Wildlife Fund, Friends of the Earth and the Amazon Alliance called on Hunt to conduct “comprehensive hydrostatic testing of the entire pipeline in order to detect defects and prevent future spills.”

Amazon Watch also criticized the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) which provided $75 million in financing for the Camisea pipeline: “The IDB claimed its investment would bring world class environmental safeguards, yet the reality is that Camisea has been a world class disaster,” said Atossa Soltani, Executive Director of Amazon Watch.

Despite unresolved issues, Hunt Oil is now beginning phase II of the Camisea project. So far, the company has refused to consider drilling methods such as Extended Reach Drilling that would minimize negative impacts to the pristine areas affected. The $5 billion Camisea project is regarded as one the most harmful “development” projects in the Amazon today. The project has already caused significant damage to the Lower Urubamba Basin, among the most biodiverse and sensitive rainforest ecosystems on earth, and disrupted the health and livelihoods of local indigenous populations who rely on local rivers for their survival.

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