Page 13 - LatAmOil Week 36

LatAmOil CURA Ç AO LatAmOil

Nevertheless, RdK allowed the latest version of shipments.)
the contract to expire on December 31, 2019. In September 2019, RdK named the Klesch
At that time, RdK made clear that it was eager Group, a privately held international industrial
to find another partner because PdVSA was no commodities firm, as the winner of a bidding
longer able to keep the La Isla refinery run- contest for control of the refinery and all associ-
ning. The 350,000 barrels per day (bpd) plant ated facilities. The two sides had initially hoped
remained more or less idle, partly because CRU to finalise an agreement by mid-2020, but nego-
was not supplying steam and partly because US tiations were first delayed by the coronavirus
sanctions left the Venezuelan company with (COVID-19) pandemic and then derailed by
few options for delivering feedstock. (Wash- Klesch’s failure to meet RdK’s demands for more
ington has exempted RdK from the sanctions detail on its financial plans. As a result, RdK said
imposed on PdVSA, but the exemption applies in July that it was breaking off talks with the
only to operations and not to Venezuelan crude international group. ™

ECUADOR
Court rules for Ecuadorean

government on pipeline claims

LEADERS of indigenous groups and their allies the spills, which occurred after the April storms
in Ecuador have pledged to appeal against a caused two key crude oil pipelines and one fuel
court decision that rejects their demand for pipeline to rupture and leak.
compensation from the government for oil spills In their pleadings, the indigenous groups
that followed floods and landslides in April. and their allies said that the spills had left more
According to press reports, around 105 local than 27,000 residents of areas along the Napo
communities joined environmental and human and Coca rivers unable to fish or farm. More
rights organisations in filing suit against the than 15,000 barrels of crude and fuel leaked into
government, the national oil company (NOC) the rivers and onto the ground before Petroe-
Petroecuador and other firms involved in the cuador and other operators closed the pipeline
leak earlier this year. breaches.
These groups took legal action in the hope of Nevertheless, the court ruled against the
securing compensation for the environmental, plaintiffs on the grounds that it was not respon-
economic and physical damage resulting from sible for civil claims of this sort.

The Kichwa community was heavily affected by the spill (Image: Amazon Frontlines)

Week 35 03•September•2020 www. NEWSBASE .com P13