Get Premium Data for Cyber Monday: Up to 55% Off InvestingProCLAIM SALE

Environmental, Indigenous groups in Ecuador threaten action over Amazon oilfield

Published 25/01/2024, 21:36
© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: A pipeline of state-owned Petroecuador is pictured as Ecuador is preparing to shut down oil production in the Yasuni Amazon reserve, in Via Auca, Orellana province, Ecuador July 28, 2023. REUTERS/Karen Toro/File Photo

By Alexandra Valencia

QUITO (Reuters) - Environmentalists and Indigenous groups in Ecuador on Thursday said that President Daniel Noboa risks being removed from office if he does not comply with a referendum that called for the closure of an oil block in the country's Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN).

Last year, a majority of Ecuadoreans voted to shutdown the 43-ITT block to protect the Yasuni reserve in the Amazon, while the country's top court granted one year for the removal of oil infrastructure in the region.

Noboa recently floated the idea of postponing the block's closure, citing resources needed to finance a military offensive he declared earlier this month to tackle criminal gangs he has called terrorists amid spiraling violence.

State-owned Petroecuador has previously said that closing the block - which produces some 55,000 barrels of oil per day - could begin in August.

"If the president signs a document stating he won't comply with the will of the people(...), then the Constitutional Court will have to remove the president, we will take charge of pushing criminal charges," Pedro Bermeo, from environmental advocacy group Yasunidos, which pushed the referendum, told journalists.

During the same press conference Leonidas Iza, president of Ecuador's largest Indigenous group, CONAIE, threatened to take the case to both Ecuador's top court and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) if need be.

"Democrats respect the will of the people," Iza said. "Opportunists take advantage of the will of the people for their own ends. President Noboa is at the point of revealing whether he is an opportunist or a democrat."

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: A pipeline of state-owned Petroecuador is pictured as Ecuador is preparing to shut down oil production in the Yasuni Amazon reserve, in Via Auca, Orellana province, Ecuador July 28, 2023. REUTERS/Karen Toro/File Photo

The government did not respond to requests for comment.

Closing the block could cost Ecuador some $13.8 billion over the next two decades and will result in the loss of 12% of the country's oil output, which averages about 492,000 bpd, according to Petroecuador.

Latest comments

Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.