Locals in the Peruvian region of Loreto continue to protest
Perú-Petro’s decision to award the contract to operate Lot 192 to a foreign oil
company. Conflict over the operation and administration of Peru’s most
productive oil field has occurred off and on over the course of the last
several years. Women, children, and the elderly took control of and staged a
sit-in at the local airport, preventing employees and contractors of Argentine
oil company Pluspetrol from entering the airport.
In addition, local civil society organizations and unions announced
a 48-hour strike this week starting on Wednesday to “give a clear message to
the Central Government that the region of Loreto will not accept impositions
against its interests nor more mockery of its representatives.” Leaders of the
local community met last weekend to
acknowledge the fact that the central government has so far ignored their
demands and to plot how to escalate their protests.
In other oil-related news, Perú-Petro announced
that it would suspend the international auction of seven oil fields in the
Peruvian jungle. The Peruvian state-owned oil company explained that the
collapse in global oil prices killed any interest in the auction, and that it
would restart the bidding process once conditions had improved.
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