Energy & Climate
California guzzles Amazon oil
New investigation reveals California is fuelling Amazon oil drilling.
4 December 2021
Main image: A Petroperú pipeline leak, image courtesy of Amazon Watch
Indigenous nations from Ecuador and Peru have issued a strong rejection of a recently announced agreement between state-owned oil companies Petroperú and Petroecuador to connect Ecuador’s southern Amazon oil blocks to the Norperuvian Pipeline.
Leaders denounced the deal as a blatant violation of national and international laws guaranteeing their right to Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC).
The planned interconnection would revive the long-failed ‘Ronda Suroriente’ oil expansion in Ecuador’s Amazon and increase crude volumes through the Norperuvian Pipeline, a system plagued by decades of costly oil spills that have polluted rivers, destroyed ecosystems and harmed Indigenous communities.
‘Decades of strong Indigenous resistance against fossil fuels in Ecuador and Peru have successfully expelled oil companies and shut down destructive expansion plans. Funding drilling of more Amazon crude is a dead end for investments and will result in unfulfilled promises of profit.’
MARY MIJARES
Corporate campaigns manager at Amazon Watch
Indigenous leaders warn that this cross-border oil plan is being driven in part by the steady demand from California’s refineries, which remain the largest US importers of Amazon crude – particularly from Ecuador.
Data show that California refineries process hundreds of millions of barrels of Amazon oil annually, linking the state’s fuel consumption directly to deforestation, climate emissions and human rights violations in one of the most biodiverse regions on Earth.
‘This deal has no consent, no legitimacy, and will face legal and social resistance every step of the way’, reads the joint statement. ‘California’s continued demand for Amazon crude fuels projects like this and makes the state complicit in the destruction of our lands.’
Signatory nations – including the Binational Achuar Coordination of Ecuador and Peru (Cobnaep), the Sápara Nation of Ecuador (NASE), the Shiwiar Nation of Ecuador (NASHIE), the Kichwa Runakuna of Pastaza (PAKKIRU), the Autonomous Territorial Government of the Wampís Nation and the Chapra Nation – stress that the deal exposes companies and banks to serious legal, financial and reputational risks.
International agreements such as ILO Convention 169 and the American Convention on Human Rights require FPIC for projects affecting Indigenous territories.
The leaders also note that this announcement came just weeks before the Amazon Summit of Presidents and meetings of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO), where governments should be advancing protections for the Amazon – not new extractive projects.
‘A recent delegation of Indigenous leaders from Ecuador inspired the California Senate to introduce a landmark resolution calling for an official review of the state’s Amazon crude imports and urging an end to its complicity in deforestation and Indigenous rights violations. With a full Senate vote expected soon, any expansion of oil drilling in Ecuador now stands in direct opposition to global efforts to move away from fossil fuels.’
KEVIN KOENIG
Climate and Energy Director at Amazon Watch
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