31 July, 2007
Mr. Ray L. Hunt, CEO
Hunt Oil Company
Fountain Place, 1445 Foss at Field, Suite 1400
Dallas, TX 75202-2785
Mr. Hunt,
Amazon Watch is aware that Perupetro has awarded Hunt Oil drilling rights for Block 143 in the northern Peruvian Amazon. We are writing to respectfully urge that Hunt Oil not sign this contract and refrain from any attempts to enter the concession.
As you may be aware, Block 143 overlaps the titled and ancestral territories of the Achuar people, who have repeatedly and publicly voiced their unqualified opposition to any new oil development on their territories. We believe it goes without saying that any forward-thinking, reputable company would only wish to operate with ‘social license’ and would also be committed to internationally-recognized human rights benchmarks such as the principle of free, prior and informed consent. If Hunt Oil wishes to adhere to either of these principles, then Block 143 must be off-limits to any hydrocarbon exploration or production.
There are also strong business reasons why Hunt Oil should respect the wishes of local communities in Block 143 and stay away from the area. FECONACO, the Federation of Native Communities of the Corrientes River Basin, represents many of the indigenous communities in Block 143. Protesting high levels of oil contamination and deplorable health impacts from more than three decades of oil extraction (first by Occidental Petroleum and currently by Pluspetrol), last October FECONACO organized a peaceful blockade that shut down Peru’s largest oil facility in Blocks 1AB and 8. More than 800 Achuar elders, women and children joined the two-week protest, which, according to Pluspetrol, cost the company $2 million per day.
In the final agreement reached among the Achuar, Peruvian government and Pluspetrol, the Achuar included notice that, “FECONACO…express to the Peruvian government their non-consent [original emphasis] to the granting of new oil concessions and…operations for hydrocarbon exploration or exploitation in Block 104, granted to…ConocoPhilips and in Block106, granted to the company Petrolifera.”(1) What is now Block 143 was originally part of Block 104, until ConocoPhilips voluntarily renounced that section of the concession earlier this year following the Achuar’s opposition to the company’s plans.
In addition to the blockade, the Achuar recently filed a lawsuit against Occidental Petroleum. The case, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, alleges deleterious health and environmental impacts of 30 years of operations in Block 1AB. In the adjacent Pastaza River Basin, well-organized Achuar federations have resisted oil operations on their lands for over a decade. Previously (Exxon)Mobil, Repsol, Arco and Occidental have each attempted and failed to drill in the area.
Amazon Watch has supported the Achuar’s opposition to new oil projects within their territories, titled or ancestral, for over six years and remains committed to defending their collective rights. Again, we respectfully urge Hunt Oil to drop its plans to carry out operations in Block 143. As in the past, we are open to dialogue with you on this matter.
Sincerely,
Atossa Soltani
Executive Director
Cc:
Mr. Hunter Hunt, Senior Vice President
Ambassador Jeanne Phillips, Senior Vice President, Corporate Affairs and International Relations
Mr. Steven Suellentrop, Senior Vice President; President, Hunt LNG
Ambassador Felipe Ortiz de Zevallos, Ambassador of Peru in the United States
(1) “Feconaco deja expresa constancia que han expresado al Estado peruano, su no consentimiento para el ortogamiento de nuevas concesiones petroleras y para el inicio de las operaciones de exploración y explotación de hidrocarburos en el lote 104 otorgado a la empresa Burlington, actualmente Conoco Philips y el lote 106 otorgado a la empresa Petrolífera”
