The conflict continues between Argentine oil company
Pluspetrol and the indigenous communities of the Loreto region in Peru. This
conflict escalated significantly a few weeks ago when the indigenous groups
seized Pluspetrol’s oil fields to put pressure
on the company in negotiations over indemnifications for damage to the
environment and compensation for the company’s use of local infrastructure.
Tensions increased
again over the weekend when the indigenous groups seized
control of the oil company’s airfield.
According to the top police official in the region, General
PNP Jorge Pérez Flores, the indigenous people are acting peacefully and police
officials are in the area to maintain order. The protestors did not cause any
damage to equipment or hurt anyone, they simply shut down the oil company’s
operations in the area. Estimates regarding the number of protestors who seized
the airfield ranged from 50 to 400 people.
As usual, reports on the latest incident noted that
Pluspetrol was not available to comment. The Argentine oil company has
consistently been late to engage with the press and present its side of the
story to influence reporting of the conflict.
Meanwhile several oil companies are eagerly anticipating
the resolution of negotiations between Pluspetrol and the indigenous groups.
Peruvian oil company Perupetrol is waiting for the talks to conclude so that it
can open up bidding on the 1-AB oil block, which is currently occupied by the
protestors.
In separate news related to the oil industry, Peruvian
business journal La
Republica reported on foreign ownership of Peru’s oil resources. The report
explained that the Peruvian government plans to strengthen Perupetro, the
Peruvian state oil company, giving Perupetro an ownership stake in the
country’s domestic oil projects. Globally, 85% of oil reserves are in the hands
of state oil companies. However, in Peru, 51.7% of oil production is in the
hands of foreign state oil companies, principally Chinese companies.
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