After widespread coverage of the drought in Casanare paired with accusations that oil production is causing it, the USO has come out and said that its work with the local community in Arauca could prevent the same tragedy from happening there as well.
School is back in session for 2014 providing an opportunity for oil producers to give school supplies to communities in their area of influence, while another program looks to encourage environmental protection at the village committee level. These and other Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) stories.
Stories this week involving the public roadways and the oil industry include talks between local leaders and Equion, an Ecopetrol program to pave roads in Arauca, restrictions in Caquetá and more.
A seismic exploration project being carried out by Pacific Rubiales is receiving increased resistance from local communities in Huila, where a number of government authorities, environmental activists and academics will organize a forum to discuss the matter.
Parex has held a press conference with local media outlets and looks to convince the local community that its plan to drill exploration wells in the Tinije Lagoon will be more environmentally safe than Spain’s Cepcolsa, who abandoned the project after community pressure.
USO affiliates staged a protest last week in front of Ecopetrol’s (NYSE:EC) corporate headquarters in Bogotá over what the union says is a negligent attitude of the NOC in regards to the health benefits and conditions under contractor firms.
The surrounding region of Paz de Ariporo is suffering a severe drought that has led to widespread deaths of native species and livestock, and the local press is speculating that the boom of the mining-energy sector is to blame.
Citiing a UN agreement to protect 17% of the country’s land mass, authorities are looking to add eight more parks in La Guajira, Arauca, Meta, and Serranía de San Lucas, thus prohibiting any sort of extractive activities in the area.
A number of communities in the Aguazul and Maní municipalities have issued a joint statement to local press alleging that oil operator Perenco Colombia is not complying with legal requirements on environmental, social responsibility and soclaization matters. Is this the latest community to engage in hardball negotiations with oil producers or are the accusations founded?
Ecopetrol has a number of programs including bridge improvements and educational programs, while Raven says its ready to invest in social programs and Llanopetrol is backing students for petrochemical studies. These and other Corporate Social Responsibility programs to make local press lately.
2025, Hydrocarbons Colombia, All Rights Reserved.
