Peru’s state oil company, Petroperu, already under fire for not doing enough to prevent spills from its pipelines across Amazon rain forest said it was investigating the cause of the spill, which took place in the Barranca district of Maranon province in Northern Peru.
Earlier this year, two breaches in the same pipeline further downstream had contaminated ecosystems nourished by the Chiriaco and Morona rivers in the Amazonas Region affecting as many as 8,000 people. Following the spill, an indigenous village in the area had briefly held several public officials hostage to press for help for cleaning the river.
Following the recent oil spills, Environmental Evaluation and Oversight Office of Peru(OEFA) had ordered Petroperú to suspend operations and repair or replace deteriorated sections of pipeline to which the company has not responded. OEFA currently has three spill-related cases open against Petroperú, which could result in fines totaling more than $25 million.
Environment and energy specialist Freddy Rojas said:
Petroperu can’t attribute the pipeline fracture to nature.This pipeline is from the 60s, so they have to foresee these accidents. Mismanagement in this area is clear.
The region had witnessed bloody protests in 2009 against oil exploration which pitted natives against police officers in bloody confrontations which left dozens dead from both sides. Prime Minister Yehude Simon was forced to resign his post in the aftermath, and Congress repealed the laws that led to the protests.
