Peru on Friday announced an agreement with Spanish energy giant Repsol to compensate thousands of people affected by a devastating oil spill that polluted beaches and killed wildlife.

Almost 12,000 barrels of crude spilled into the sea off Peru on January 15 as a tanker unloaded oil at a Repsol owned refinery.

Peru's government said on Twitter it had managed to "get Repsol to sign an agreement of care and economic compensation to those affected by the oil spill" off the coast of Ventanilla, close to the capital Lima.

Repsol had blamed the spill on freak waves caused by a volcanic eruption more than 10,000 kilometers away near Tonga.

Peru described the incident as an "ecological disaster."

The government says at least 5,000 fisherman and shopkeepers lost their livelihoods due to the polluted sea and beaches.

The deal, signed by Chief of Staff Anibal Torres and Repsol Peru president Jaime Fernandez-Cuesta, sees Repsol committing to pay a minimum of 3,000 soles ($789) to those affected within a week of the agreement being finalized.

The figure could also rise.

Repsol reiterated in a statement its "commitment to remedy the damages provoked by the spill to the communities in the affected area."

The company said it has already donated 3.3 million soles in aid.

Last month, Repsol said it had cleaned up 98 percent of the spilled oil, although the government said the figure was far less.

The environment ministry says that at least 1,400 hectares of land and sea and 500 hectares of protected nature reserves have been affected.

Repsol has paid $363,000 in fines to the Peruvian state over the spill.

Related Links
All About Oil and Gas News at OilGasDaily.com

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The Space Media Network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceMediaNetwork Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceMediaNetwork Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

Hundreds of NGOs call for import ban on Russian oil, gas
Paris (AFP) March 4, 2022
Hundreds of civil society groups and NGOs Friday called on governments worldwide to "reject and ban any import of fossil fuels from Russia" in order to cut off the main source of revenue for Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine. It is "clear that this war machine has been funded, fed and fuelled by the coal, oil and gas industries that are driving both the invasion threatening Ukraine and the climate crisis threatening humanity's future," they said in an open letter. "Putin's income streams must ... read more