The Minister of the Environment of Peru, Modesto Montoya, denounced this Monday that the Repsol company has not collected even 20 percent of the 10,396 barrels of oil spilled into the sea on January 15 and does not fully comply with the cleaning actions of the sea and beaches.
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Peru fines Repsol for 122 thousand dollars after oil spill
A month after the spill at the La Pampilla refinery, in the port city of Callao, near Lima (capital), the head of the portfolio assured local media that “only 2,000 barrels of oil will have been recovered and what has been spilled It’s about 11,000.”
He added that “the rest of the oil has gone to other places in the sea far from the beach, which are part of the contamination.”
�� Minam will demand #Repsol that restores the conditions prior to the oil spill in the marine-coastal zone.
�� Minister Modesto Montoya expressed that he will be firm in applying the corresponding coercive and sanctioning fines.
�� More details: https://t.co/0dWN4vBrjX pic.twitter.com/b1GNx6N4iB— Ministry of the Environment ����♻️ (@MinamPeru)
February 14, 2022
He specified that the cleaning work is already more than 70 percent complete, but it is superficial and he stressed that the worst damage is due to the crude oil that fell to the bottom of the sea. He valued that the beaches are being cleaned “slowly (…) but it is not yet completely fulfilled.”
He censured that the multinational has also not cleaned the white foam generated by the oil beaten by the waves of the sea and recalled that the team of experts sent by the United Nations Organization (UN) verified that this residue comes from the spill.
Also, he added that #Repsol must comply with restoring the conditions prior to the oil spill. “Through the @OEFAperu He has already been fined for not acting immediately with the indications that have been given to him”. pic.twitter.com/IVRjz9YgZV
— Ministry of the Environment ����♻️ (@MinamPeru)
February 15, 2022
Montoya said that the Peruvian State is cleaning the affected beaches with the available tools, but it does not have the technology to clean that white foam.
He emphasized that this residue, similar to the foam of detergents, is killing the wildlife that inhabits the Bay of Ancón and the National Reserve System of Guaneras Islands, Islets and Points.
In addition, he criticized that Repsol, “instead of cleaning up, which is what it has to do, is looking for other culprits,” he said in reference to the legal claim that the oil company filed this Monday against the owners of the Italian tanker Mare Doricum, which was unloading oil in La Pampilla when the spill occurred.
He added that “the Peruvian State will do everything necessary for this company to comply with its obligation.” In this sense, he recalled that the Agency for Environmental Assessment and Enforcement (OEFA) fined the multinational and that national and international laws support the country.
�� #OEFA imposed on Repsol a fine of 100 UIT (S/ 460,000) for non-compliance with the first measure ordered, related to the identification of the affected areas in the #EnvironmentalEmergencywhich will continue to be applied successively until compliance is proven. pic.twitter.com/dRB95cd95e
— oefaperu (@OEFAperu)
February 11, 2022
On January 28, Repsol disclosed that it had already recovered 35 percent of the spilled oil from the sea. Days later, on February 10, he declared that the cleaning of the Peruvian coast was progressing at 56 percent of what was planned.
Previously, the company admitted that it had lied to the Peruvian authorities about the number of barrels of oil that were spilled: first they reported only 6,000 barrels and then 10,396.
On Saturday, February 12, the Peruvian government fined the oil company $122,000 for failing to comply with its duty to identify the areas affected by the spill and made it clear that it can apply other measures until Repsol fulfills its responsibility.