The Government of Peru has paralyzed this Monday the loading and unloading operations of Repsol oil tankers after the spill of more than 10,000 barrels at the La Pampilla refinery on January 15.
It was announced by the Peruvian Minister of the Environment, Rubén Ramírez, who stated that the suspension it will last until the company “can offer technical guarantees that another spill will not occur”, which includes the modification of contingency plans with more drastic actions.
For its part, Repsol has issued a statement in which it has considered the decision “disproportionate and unreasonable”. Likewise, it has ensured that 35% of the spilled oil has already been collected, although the cleaning tasks will not end until the end of February.
La Pampilla refinery is the largest in Peru, and, according to the company, represents 40% of the Peruvian fuel market. For this reason, the company will make “the greatest efforts to avoid the risk of shortages of essential products for Peruvian citizens and the development of the country.”
Repsol says it will collaborate to reopen refinery “as soon as possible”
The oil company has stated that it will collaborate with the Peruvian authorities to reopen activities at the refinery “as soon as possible.” “The company, without prejudice to not sharing the resolution for considering it disproportionate and unreasonable, but in order to guarantee the supply of its products, expresses its full availability to collaborate with the Peruvian authorities“, he indicated.
In order to resume his activity, Ramírez has reported that Repsol must present “a management plan for hydrocarbon spills at sea” and its facilities will have to be certified again by the competent authorities to validate its integrity.
The stoppage, issued by the Environmental Assessment Supervisory Body (OEFA), contemplates the four maritime terminals that La Pampilla has to supply crude oil, including a monobuoy installed in 2019, the first of its kind in the country.
It was in terminal number 2 of this type that the accident that caused the environmental catastrophel When the collector platform allegedly came loose or became detached, coinciding with an unusual sea level due to the tsunami generated by the volcanic eruption in Tonga.
Peru prohibits four company directors from leaving the country
The event led the Peruvian government to declare the environmental emergency for 90 days and, last Friday, to prohibit four Repsol executives from leaving the country for 18 months for his presumed responsibility.
Among them are the executive director in Peru, Jaime Fernández-Cuesta, and the managers of the company for Environmental Quality, Cecilia Posadas Jhong; and for Production, Joseph Reyes Ruiz.
the spilled oil has spread along some 50 kilometers of coastline, from Ventanilla, in Callao, to the city of Chancay, in the north of the department of Lima. on the surface, crude oil has spread over 11.9 square kilometers between beaches and water, according to the latest report offered by the Peruvian authorities.
In this regard, Minister Ramírez has said that the company “has not evidenced clear cleaning and remedial actions in the face of what has already happened“, while the OEFA has indicated that Repsol has failed to comply with the first deadlines imposed for cleaning up the spill, for which it has warned that it is exposed to receiving several fines.
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