Lima, Peru – Peruvian news outlet “La Encerrona” published yesterday, July 5, 2023, documents showing that Isabel Tafur, current president of Perupetro, the state company responsible for selecting oil block operators in Peru, worked on a project promoted by the Canadian company PetroTal, which in 2021 sought to promote the participation of the oil company in Block 8. Tafur failed to disclose ties with PetroTal resulting in an alleged conflict of interest – the latest case of potential corruption plaguing Peru’s oil industry.
The project was called Petroin, an “indigenous oil company,” whose creation was proposed by the CEO of PetroTal’s headquarters, located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. For the creation of the Petroin project, meetings were held with Indigenous advisors and representatives of the oil industry in Peru. During the process, Tafur participated as an expert invited by Petroin.
In 2021, Tafur sent a letter as Petroin’s representative to Perupetro. In the letter, Tafur explained that Petroin was a partner of PetroTal and that her mission was to support it before an eventual awarding of Block 8.
In May of this year, Tafur’s management in Perupetro chose PetroTal (its former partner) as the most suitable candidate for Block 8.
The revelation comes at a delicate moment for PetroTal, since not only has it just been chosen as the main candidate to operate in Block 8, but it was also the most talked about candidate for Blocks 192 and 64, located in the Peruvian Amazon, as partner of the state-owned Petroperu.
“We consider that, despite the response from PetroTal and Isabel Tafur, the fact that the President of Perupetro has worked with PetroTal before winning the bid, tarnishes the bidding process and diminishes the transparency of the selection and award results,” Vladimir Pinto, Amazon Watch Peru Advocacy Advisor.
The partnership PetroTal, a company that has been questioned for its actions in Block 95, where three Indigenous people died after being shot by the police guarding the oil camp during a protest by neighboring Indigenous communities. According to further investigations, the bodies were found to have entered the camp facilities and the investigations are still ongoing.
More information on Block 95 is available here.
