PetroTal, an oil and gas development and production company domiciled in Calgary, a city in the Canadian province of Alberta, has announced a river blockade against vessels that provide services to the company.
The company accuses an indigenous group that has engaged in carrying out an “illegal blockade in the Puinahua Canal, in Peru against all ships providing services to the company, including barges that transport oil, and vessels carrying critical camp supplies.”
PetroTal gave an update related to the river blockade referring to the seizure of two oil transport convoys.
The first is an empty Brazilian convoy, with a crew of six and a total capacity of 70,000 barrels of oil that was traveling to the Bretana field. The second was a Peruvian convoy which contained approximately 40,000 barrels of oil and was destined for the Iquitos refinery. It has a crew of eight Peruvian nationals, none of whom are PetroTal employees.
The company reports that “during the hostile takeover of the convoys, a Navy sailor was injured in the head with a spear requiring minor medical attention. The Peruvian navy has been activated and will remain nearby to monitor the integrity of the vessels and health of the crew.”
The company which “does not own or operate either convoy,” claims that a group of approximately sixty people and ten boats continues to prevent the transit of ships in the Puinahua channel.
The oil and gas development and production company has called for an immediate and peaceful end to the blockade so that safe river transportation operations can resume. It is also working with all parties to help the Government of Peru generate a rapid, peaceful, and safe resolution to the blockade, as the company declares in a statement.
The company, a significant crude oil producer in Peru, has been invited to a meeting with the group, the Presidency of the Council of Ministers and the Ministry of Energy and Mines to better understand their claims and reasons for engagement. PetroTal was also invited to this meeting and “a de-escalation plan has been actioned which is a positive step towards reaching resolution,” as the oil major says.
