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Peru to tighten laws to deal with oil spills, protection of citizens
Kaieteur News – Almost three months after approximately 12,000 barrels of crude was spilled from one of Spanish oil giant, Repsol refineries in Peru – the country’s Minister of Environment (MINAM), Modesto Montoya, has cited the importance of legislative reform to adequately deal with companies after oil spills and to protect citizens.
As the country is grappling to recover from what they called an “ecological disaster”, the Minister pointed out that the country’s current laws are too permissive with the pollution produced by companies.
Peru’s Minister of Environment, Modesto Montoya
The minister’s comment comes on the heels of the country facing several difficulties with the responsible company in relation to the cleaning up and remediation of their environment and citizens, especially fishermen and their families being affected.
Minister Montoya emphatically stated that he believes that Repsol is setting a bad example for the population and other companies, due to the fact that it is not fully complying with its obligations in the clean-up and remediation of the areas damaged by the oil spill that occurred on January 15, 2022 along Peru’s coastline.
To provide aid for the citizens, last week, the Peruvian government had to order the oil giant, to pay an additional US$700 compensation to those who were affected by the spill.
Minister Montoya has indicated that this measure is the result of the efforts made by the Government to meet the demands of the affected population. According to Peruvian reports, the Minister explained that this second cash advance is added to the previous one (US$700), which will be distributed among the affected people who are registered.
“The company has to be honest and, above all, take care to compensate the people affected, like the fishermen,” he commented.
The Minister also disclosed, that during his trips to different parts of the country, he verified the magnitude of the damage caused by environmental liabilities and oil spills. “There are irresponsible companies that due to lack of technology, have left our territory semi-devastated by pollution,” he remarked.
According to reports, the crude was spilled from one of the La Pampilla refineries, which are owned by Repsol, off the coast of Ventanilla in the region of Lima, Peru.
It was reported that the 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 offloading 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.
Repsol had underreported the quantity of crude that was spilled to the Agency for Environmental Assessment and Control (OEFA), stating that only 0.16 barrels of crude was spilled, and affecting an area of 2.5m2. However, later investigations by Peru’s OEFA revealed that more than 10,000 barrels of crude had spilled – more than double the amount initially reported by the company and the affected area reaches a size of 11,061 hectares.
Notably, Peru’s OEFA have imposed the fifth coercive fine in the sum of Sol $460,000 (US$124,307) for the non-compliance of the administrative measure, containment and recovery of the hydrocarbon from the second oil spill. In addition to the five coercive fines the agency has initiated five sanctioning administrative procedures against Repsol. For the administrative sanctions the fines could exceed Sol$92, 000, 000 (US$ 24,861,505).
As the Government of Peru takes action to protect its people and its environment, Guyana in contrast, continues to give American oil giant, ExxonMobil, permission to operate without full coverage insurance to cater for such a disastrous oil spill. In February, last, ExxonMobil announced that it has commenced oil production at Guyana’s second offshore development area called Liza Phase Two in the Stabroek Block. Among the oil companies working in Guyana’s backyard is the very oil company –Repsol – that caused the oil spill in Peru.
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