| ITT: To Drill or Not to Drill - An Historic and Unprecedented Offer |
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| Wednesday, 06 June 2007 | |
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In recent weeks, an intense debate has been unfolding in Ecuador:
develop the massive oil fields in the heart of the country’s only
Amazonian national park, Yasuní, or leave the oil in the ground in
order to protect the park’s extraordinary biodiversity and indigenous
peoples living in voluntary isolation. Yasuní National Park is part of
the Napo Moist Forest Region, considered by many scientists to be the
most biodiverse forest on earth, with record or near record amounts of
insects, birds, monkeys, amphibians, trees, and plants.
The
oil fields, known as ITT (Ishpingo-Tiputini-Tambococha), contains an
estimated 900 to 1,500 million barrels of oil. They are the largest
untapped oil fields in Ecuador, representing approximately a quarter of
the country’s known reserves.
Over the past several weeks, however, Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa has repeatedly been advertising his government’s offer that if the international community can compensate the country with half of the forecasted lost revenues, they will leave the oil in the ground. Correa estimates this figure at around $350 million per year. Various administrations over the past two decades have planned for ITT’s exploitation given its strategic importance for the country, but the debate has now reached fever pitch in this poor and oil export-dependent nation. On one hand, the progressive Energy Minister Alberto Acosta is championing the proposal to seek compensation from the international community to leave the oil in the ground and still be able to fund desperately needed social programs. On the other hand, Carlos Pareja, the head of the state oil company Petroecuador, has been aggressively promoting the exploitation alternatives. In late March and early April, Petroecuador signed Memorandum of Understandings for the exploitation of ITT with Sinopec of China, Petrobras of Brazil, and Enap of Chile. And just this week, another MOU was signed with Pdvsa of Venezuela. Thus, Ecuador, while challenging the international community to generate funds to allow the country to keep the oil in the ground, is quickly moving forward with plans to exploit the reserves. Correa has established that his administration’s first option is the former, and development will only proceed if there are no suitable compensation proposals. The indigenous Waorani of Yasuní have officially protested the development of this oil reserve since ITT and all of the Park are on their ancestral territory. Because of previous oil development, they have suffered the effects of pollution, deforestation, and social divisions in their society, but have received little money for the billions of dollars worth of oil that has been removed from Yasuní over the past two decades. On Wednesday, May 23, 2007, the vice-President of the Waorani organization NAWE, Fernand Nihua, spoke to an international press conference held in Washington, D.C. and Quito, Ecuador, where Alberto Acosta was listening. Nihua said the Waorani supported the plan of the government to get compensated for not drilling in the ITT block, but he added that whether the international community raises sufficient funds or not, the Waorani would not permit drilling of ITT.
Many
NGOs in Ecuador, the U.S. and other countries are working to make the
historic and unprecendented plan to not drill for oil a reality.
park, Yasuní, or leave the oil in the ground in
order to protect the park’s extraordinary biodiversity and indigenous
peoples living in voluntary isolation. Yasuní National Park is part of
the Napo Moist Forest Region, considered by many scientists to be the
most biodiverse forest on earth, with record or near record amounts of
insects, birds, monkeys, amphibians, trees, and plants.
The oil fields, known as ITT (Ishpingo-Tiputini-Tambococha), contains an estimated 900 to 1,500 million barrels of oil. They are the largest untapped oil fields in Ecuador, representing approximately a quarter of the country’s known reserves. Over the past several weeks, however, Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa has repeatedly been advertising his government’s offer that if the international community can compensate the country with half of the forecasted lost revenues, they will leave the oil in the ground. Correa estimates this figure at around $350 million per year. Various administrations over the past two decades have planned for ITT’s exploitation given its strategic importance for the country, but the debate has now reached fever pitch in this poor and oil export-dependent nation. On one hand, the progressive Energy Minister Alberto Acosta is championing the proposal to seek compensation from the international community to leave the oil in the ground and still be able to fund desperately needed social programs. On the other hand, Carlos Pareja, the head of the state oil company Petroecuador, has been aggressively promoting the exploitation alternatives. In late March and early April, Petroecuador signed Memorandum of Understandings for the exploitation of ITT with Sinopec of China, Petrobras of Brazil, and Enap of Chile. And just this week, another MOU was signed with Pdvsa of Venezuela. Thus, Ecuador, while challenging the international community to generate funds to allow the country to keep the oil in the ground, is quickly moving forward with plans to exploit the reserves. Correa has established that his administration’s first option is the former, and development will only proceed if there are no suitable compensation proposals. The indigenous Waorani of Yasuní have officially protested the development of this oil reserve since ITT and all of the Park are on their ancestral territory. Because of previous oil development, they have suffered the effects of pollution, deforestation, and social divisions in their society, but have received little money for the billions of dollars worth of oil that has been removed from Yasuní over the past two decades. On Wednesday, May 23, 2007, the vice-President of the Waorani organization NAWE, Fernand Nihua, spoke to an international press conference held in Washington, D.C. and Quito, Ecuador, where Alberto Acosta was listening. Nihua said the Waorani supported the plan of the government to get compensated for not drilling in the ITT block, but he added that whether the international community raises sufficient funds or not, the Waorani would not permit drilling of ITT.
Many
NGOs in Ecuador, the U.S. and other countries are working to make the
historic and unprecendented plan to not drill for oil a reality.
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