Damaged pipeline leaks 3,000 barrels of oil into Peru’s Amazon region

Ruptures in Peru’s main oil pipeline have spilled 3,000 barrels of crude in an Amazonian region, operator Petroperu said. The oil has polluted two rivers native villages rely on for water, according to government officials. TV images showed thickets of jungle sopped in black sludge and clean-up crews lifting buckets of crude from rivers. The oil has poured into the Chiriaco and Morona rivers in north-western Peru, said national environmental regulator OEFA.

It’s important to note that the spills…are not isolated cases. Similar emergencies have emerged as a result of defects in sections of the pipeline.

National environmental regulator OEFA

Two breaks in the pipeline have halted transportation of 5,000 to 6,000 barrels of oil per day, state-owned Petroperu said. Peru’s health ministry declared a water quality emergency in five districts near the spill. Petroperu president German Velasquez denied reports the company paid children to clean up the oil but said he was evaluating firing four officials, including one who may have allowed children to collect the crude.

Peru oil