On Tuesday, September 7, Maxus Energy Corp, a Dallas-based oil company which
has called its Ecuadorian rainforest Ra modelS for oil development in the
rainforest, was responsible for a 900 barrel spill of heavy crude. Maxus,
whose Ecuador project area includes Yasuni National Park and the Huaorani
Indian Reserve, said it was working to clean up the spill, along the road
they have recently opened between the Shushufindi refinery and the Napo
River, and that about two-thirds had been contained.
An independent monitoring team comprised of representatives of the
Indigenous peoples organizations COICA, CONAIE, and CONFENIAE, and the
environmental organization Accion Ecologica, has gone to the scene to ensure
that Maxus has undertaken a thorough cleanup of the spill.
According to Maxus, the spill was caused by human error, while a Panamanian
subcontractor was laying a pipeline for Maxus. The workers ruptured a
pipeline already in use belonging to Occidental Petroleum Co, which has been
drilling within 100 yards of the Limoncocha Lagoon, the heart of the Quichua
Indian community of Limoncocha.
As of yet, there has been no assessment of the spillUs impacts on flora and
fauna in the region, nor on local communities. The independent monitoring
team has recently been formed to ensure participation by local communities
and independent technical experts in assessment of the environmental and
social impacts of oil development in the Ecuadorian Amazon.
For more information:
Glen Switkes
Rainforest Action Network
450 Sansome Street, Suite 700
San Francisco California 94111, USA
Tel: (415) 398-4404 Fax: (415) 398-2732
e-mail: en.rainforest
or: Yvonne Ramos, Accion Ecologica
Lerida 380 y Pontevedra
Quito, Ecuador
Tel: (593) 2-526-994 Fax: (593) 2-547-516