Peruvian Judge bars oil executives from leaving country after oil spill

Jan 31, 2022 News

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…Guyana still awaits full-cover insurance from oil companies

Kaieteur News – A judge in Peru on Friday last, barred four executives from Spanish oil company, Repsol, from leaving the country amid the devastating oil spill which saw more than 6,000 barrels of crude contaminating the shores of Peru.
Kaieteur News reported that the oil spill occurred on January 15, 2022, at one of the La Pampilla refineries off the coast of Ventanilla in the region of Lima, Peru. It was reported that the oil spill was caused by shock waves from an undersea volcanic eruption near Tonga in the South Pacific Ocean.
At the time of the undersea eruption, Suezmax tanker, Mare Doricum, was unloading a shipment of Brazilian crude oil at one of La Pampilla refinery’s offshore mooring buoys, and as such a quantity of the cargo was released.

As a result of the oil spill, several Peruvian officials had called for the Spanish oil giant to compensate for what they described as an ‘ecological disaster’ that has occurred in Lima in recent times. However, according to Peruvian media reports, Repsol officials have denied the liability for the spill and also called it an accident.
According to Peruvian media, a Specialized Prosecutor for Environmental Matters for Lima, Noroeste, had approached the Peruvian court, seeking an order to prevent four Repsol executives from leaving the country. It was reported that the prosecutor was considering a criminal case against the company’s representatives and as such he approached the district court to issue an order preventing the Repsol executives from leaving the country – in order to ensure that they will be available for any possible criminal proceedings.
Based on the prosecutor’s submission to the court, Judge Romualdo Aguedo on Friday granted the order to prevent the four executives from leaving the country.
Peruvian media reported that Judge Aguedo imposed an 18-months ban on the grounds of the potential risk that the officials might leave Peru.
Those that have been barred are: refinery manager, Jaime Fernández-Cuesta Luca de Tena; terminal manager, Renzo Alejandro Tejada Mackenzie; environmental manager, Gisela Cecilia Posadas Jhong; and production manager, José Gregorio Reyes Ruiz. It was reported that the lawyers for the Repsol executives did not appeal the decision and said that they will collaborate with the investigation.
Additionally, Peru’s Agency for Environmental Assessment and Enforcement (OEFA) alleges that Repsol has not complied with orders related to the cleanup effort for these areas, and the agency has issued an initial fine of $4.8 million.
While speaking at a press conference, OEFA director, Mimiam Alegria, is reported in Peruvian media stating that the agency believes Repsol had failed to reach the deadline to identify areas affected by the spill. As such, she noted that if it is determined that the order has not been followed an additional “coercive fine” may be imposed on the oil giant and each further infraction comes with a potential monetary penalty.
Repsol has faced severe backlash for the oil spill and also for underreporting the quantity of crude that was spilled
Kaieteur News reported that Repsol reported the oil spill was only equivalent to 0.16 barrels of oil, but when an investigation was done by Peru’s Agency for Environmental Assessment and Enforcement (OEFA) it revealed that the spill was equivalent to 6,000 barrels.
Peru’s Foreign Ministry tweeted that the oil spill has not only caused serious damage to hundreds of fishermen’s families, but also endangered the country’s flora and fauna in the area. As a result, they stated that the sanction must be strict and the company must be held responsible for what happened.
Repsol said in a statement that it would “continue working to remedy the impact generated by the oil spill, deploying all our efforts and monitoring all activities by air to detect possible new affected areas.” However, Ministry of the Environment (MINAM) attorney-at-law Julio Cesar Guzman told Exitosa Noticias, that Repsol could face liabilities of up to $500 million for compensation for the effects of the spill.
Moreover, cleanup efforts are ongoing, with guidance from national regulators and from UN advisors.
While Peru continues to take action to protect its people and its environment, Guyana in contrast, continues to give Exxon the permission to pollute the airspace via flaring without consequence. It has also been extracting oil offshore since 2019 and Guyana is still without full cover insurance from their parent company.

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