RIGHT NOW and during the coming days the Venezuelan Congress is going to
decide about the approval of three oil leases, granted to three
transnational corporations, containing 526,000 acres in the Delta Amacuro.
The confirmation of these leases will mean a destruction of the Warao and
their habitat.
The 21,000 Warao, living in the Delta Amacuro, are already in a precarious
situation. The opening up of their natural environment will be disastrous.
The last couple of years, epidemics of cholera, measles, and malaria have
killed substantial numbers of Warao. They depend on river water for
drinking, cooking and washing. Besides from the 'normal' operations of
exploring and drilling, further deforestation and destruction will occur if
the leases are granted.
The companies Louisiana Land and Exploration Co. (New Orleans, Louisiana),
Benton Oil and Gas Company (Carpinteria, California) and Norcen Energy
Resources (Canada) are expected to invest $50 to $60 million during the
first five years. Already, in 1993 British Petrol was granted rights to
reopen old oil wells near Pedernales, in the northwestern part of the
delta. They are now producing 10,000 barrels per day.
Warao communities have been struggling for years to obtain greater
political voice, however mostly unsuccesfully. Therefore, it is imperative
to act now! Substantial international pressure is necessary to confront
these large transnational corporations.
Please send letters of protest. A sample copy follows.
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Dear Sirs:
I understand that your company wants to explore the precious Amacuro
Delta. Given the fragile ecology of the delta, oil exploration and
extraction will have disastrous effects. The Indigenous Warao people, are
entirely dependent on river water for drinking, cooking and washing.
The dispersal of contaminants associated with the normal operations of
exploring and drilling would be extensive ands would have highly adverse
health effects.
Given the ecological, cultural, and economic configuration of the delta,
it is absolutely clear that oil exploration will have disastrous short-term
and long-term effects on the Warao people.
I would therefore like to ask you to stop your drilling and exploring
operations in the Amacuro Delta. I oppose approval of these new leases and
all other projects involving oil exploration and exploitation in the delta.
Yours sincerely
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Addresses:
Cheryl Dick
Corporate Communications
Norcen Energy Resources Limited
PO Box 2595, Station M
Calgary, Alberta
T2P 4V4, Canada
Tel.: (403) 231-0274
Fax.: (403) 231-011
email: cdick@ norcen.com
H. Leighton Steward, CEO
Louisiana Land and Exploration Company
909 Poydras Street
New Orleans, LA 70112 USA
Tel. (504) 566-6500
Fax. (504) 566-6891
Alex E. Benton, CEO
Benton Oil and Gas Company
1145 Eugenia Place, Ste. 200
Carpinteria, CA 93013
Tel. (805) 566-5600
Fax. (805) 566-5610
Peter Brigg
Public Relations British Petroleum Company, p.l.c.
Britannic House
1 Finsbury Circus
London EC2M 7BA
United Kingdom
Tel. 0171-496 4000
Fax. 0171-496 4528
Tom Coch
Public Relations Manager BP America Inc.
BP American Building
200 Public Square
Cleveland, OH 44114
Tel. (216) 586-6511
Fax. (216) 586-6957
BP Exploration de Venezuela. S.A.
Edificio Centro Seguros Sud-America
Piso Cinco, Avda. Francisco de Miranda, cruce Avda. Mohedano Apartado 60171
Chacao, Caracas, Venezuela
Tel. + 58 2 901 9000
Fax. + 58 2 953 0719
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South and Meso American Indian Rights Center (SAIIC)
P.O. Box 28703
Oakland CA, 94604
Phone: (510)834-4263 Fax: (510)834-4264
Email: saiic@igc.apc.org
Office: 1714 Franklin Street, 3rd Floor, Oakland
Home Page: http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/nativeweb/abyayala/orgs/saiic
For more information about SAIIC, send an empty email message to:
saiic-info@igc.apc.org