RE: Seisure of a oil concession...
ECUADORIAN PRESIDENT APPROVES PIPELINE BACKED BY OCCIDENTAL
The president of Ecuador, Gustavo Noboa, recently gave the go-ahead for the construction of a US$1.1 billion oil pipeline in the northern part of the country that is highly likely to have severe environmental and social impacts for local communities. With his approval Noboa declared "war" on environmental groups in Ecuador, in particular Accion Ecologica who is adamantly opposed to the pipeline. "I'm not going to let anyone screw with the country, I'll give them war!" said Noboa.
The pipeline, known as the OCP (Oleoducto de Crudo Presado) is controlled by an international consortium of companies including Alberta Energy, Occidental Petroleum, Repsol-YPF, Agip, Perez-Companc and Kerr-McGee. Occidental Petroleum in particular has a heinous environmental and human rights track record in nearby Colombia and was key in lobbying the US government to finance Plan Colombia.
Five hundred kilometers in length, the pipeline will, for most of the route, run parallel to an existing pipeline which starts in the Amazon rainforest and traverses through the Andes to the Pacific coast. A (157 kilometer) section, known as the northern route, deviates from the existing pipeline and will cut through the Mindo-Nambillo Reserve nestled within a cloud forest in the Andes.
The Reserve is rich in biodiversity and is home to over 450 bird species, 10% of which are endangered. Eco-tourism is a major source of employment for the area, providing jobs for more than 70% of the local community. According to a number of international organizations including Greenpeace International, Friends of the Earth, and World Rainforest Movement, "the pipeline represents a threat to the burgeoning eco-tourism industry, which could bring in upwards of US$600 million over the next 20 years".
Ecuador's past experience with pipelines gives little confidence that the OCP will be trouble-free. Less than a month ago, the state owned pipeline ruptured due to a landslide, spilling 7,000 barrels of oil into the forest. This accident is the 14th major oil spill from this pipeline since 1998. In the past 3 years, a total of 145,000 barrels of oil have been spilled into the ecosystem, causing devastating impacts including soil and groundwater contamination. As the OCP is also in a landslide and earthquake prone area, accidents are inevitable.
Less concerned with environmental and local economic impacts, President Noboa has approved the project which is he expects will increase oil export and therefore annual GDP by 2.5% for the next 20 years. He has also received much pressure from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to push forward with the pipeline project despite local and international opposition. Jeffrey Franks, the IMF representative in Ecuador was reported to have warned the Ecuadorian government that if the project does not go forward as planned, the government may lose much needed international funding.
There has been a great deal of protest and action surrounding the pipeline issue. While international environmental groups mentioned above, bombarded financiers of the project, who are J.P. Morgan Chase, Citigroup, and Deutsche Bank, with letters urging them to discontinue their support of the project, demonstrations of 2,000 strong took place outside the OCP Consortium-organized public hearings in Ecuador.
Following this demonstration, more than one hundred activists stormed and occupied the office of Pablo Teran, Minister of Energy and Mines. Accion Ecologica, has not given up hope. Despite the green light given by the president, they have declared they will continue the struggle and "continue working from different angles to prevent the construction of the OCP."
SOURCES: "Ecuadorian President Declares "War" On Environmentalists Over Criticism Of Pipeline; Nobody is going to screw us," May 18, 2001; "Ecuador boosts exploration efforts," The Oil and Gas Journal, April 12, 2001; "Oil and cloud-forests don't mix," The Economist, June 21, 2001