Talisman Energy will continue to work in Peru’s Amazon jungle, in spite of requests from an environmental group to cease drilling in the area.
Talisman spokesman Barry Nelson said Thursday the company has been in close contact with communities in the area where Talisman is working, a 75,000 square-kilometre area called Block 64, where some 1,000 local Achuar people live.
“We have the permission of the communities where we operate. We not only have their permission, we have their enthusiastic support.”
According to Amazon Watch, an environmental lobby group that advocates for indigenous people, some 80 per cent of people in the vicinity want Talisman to leave the area. Local communities are also planning to set up blockades starting Saturday to stop drilling activity.
But Nelson argued there is no drilling going on right now, only the testing of one well.
Talisman is writing a letter to Amazon Watch, explaining their position.
Amazon Watch’s request comes at a time when Talisman is working to rebuild its image after years of vilification for its business in Sudan. Talisman sold its assets there.
