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Nevertheless, with most of the votes tallied, nationalisation of the hydrocarbon and mining
Pedro Castillo, the candidate of the leftist Peru sectors since 2019. (In fact, the party assumed
Libre party, appears to have a slight edge over his this stance long before the latest presidential
opponent Keiko Fujimori, the candidate of the election, but Castillo himself has indicated that
conservative Fuerza Popular and the daughter of he favours returning these sectors of the econ-
former President Alberto Fujimori. omy to state control.)
Castillo has yet to make a formal declara- These worries are not baseless. Earlier this
tion of victory. Fujimori, meanwhile, has made year, the Peru Libre candidate argued that the
claims that the outcome was distorted by fraud Camisea gas fields ought to be handed over to
and manipulation, but she has not officially chal- the state. He told his supporters that the fields
lenged the vote count. were a strategic resource that should be nation-
If Castillo wins, investors are likely to be alised so that they could benefit Peruvians rather
wary of the new president’s plans for Peru’s than foreign investors.
economy and concerned about the potential The Camisea fields are being developed by a
for state interference in markets. Their worries consortium that includes US-based Hunt Oil,
have been particularly pronounced with respect which is also the leader of the Peru LNG project.
to crude oil, natural gas and copper resources, They provide feedstock for the Peru LNG plant,
since the Peru Libre party has been calling for which is located in Pampa Melchorita. ™

ECUADOR
Road blockades lead Petroecuador to

declare force majeure on Eden Yuturi

PETROECUADOR, the national oil company The Eden Yuturi field overlaps the 250-square
(NOC) of Ecuador, declared force majeure on km area that is home to the Kichwa El Eden
the Eden Yuturi oilfield last week, reporting that community, which has about 400 members.
road blockades had disrupted development Petroecuador had previously signed an agree-
operations at the site. ment with the indigenous group on the sharing
In a statement dated June 3, Petroecuador of oil revenues generated from the field, but the
reported that it had not been able to access deal expired earlier this year and negotiations
production infrastructure since May 10, when between the parties have not been successful.
members of the Kichwa El Eden indigenous The seizure of the roads leading to the Ama-
community took control of all roads leading zon basin field is rooted in an ongoing dispute
to the field. The resulting blockades have had between Petroecuador and the Kichwa El Eden
a negative impact on operational performance community over the sharing of oil revenues. The
and pose risks to the safety of workers, it said. parties have not succeeded in hammering out a
More specifically, it said, roadblocks have new agreement to replace a previous deal that
“impeded the entry and exit of functionaries expired earlier this year. ™
[and] the supply of food and supplies necessary
for Block 12 operations, as well as the control
and operations of other installations.”
The NOC acknowledged that it had been
able to transport some supplies and workers
back and forth from the site by helicopter, with
the help of the Ecuadorean military. Neverthe-
less, it said, conditions at the Eden Yuturi field
have become unsafe enough to pose a threat to
workers, “strategic installations of the state and
the level of national oil production.”
As a result, it added, the declaration of force
majeure will remain in place until the road
blockades are lifted. Petroecuador has informed
its customers and contractors of the situation
and will soon execute a contingency plan to
“perform preventive maintenance” at the oilfield
and to “avoid damages and possible impacts to
the environment.” The Eden Yuturi oilfield lies within Block 12 (Image: ARCGIS)

Week 23 10•June•2021 www. NEWSBASE .com P13