So the majority of voters called for the cessation of oil exploitation in the Amazonian reserve of Yasuni, during a referendum on August 20, the Ecuadorian government now considers it complicated to stop the project. During his declarations to the press on Wednesday August 24, the Minister of Energy and Mines Fernando Santos affirmed that the dismantling would be very complex and a constitutional problem could also favor its maintenance despite the vote.
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The result of last Sunday’s referendum is clear and does not suffer from any discussion, reports our correspondent in Quito,Eric Samson. While the National Electoral Council counted 99.94% of the votes, 58.97% of Ecuadorians voted “ Yes » at the end within a year to the oil exploitation in Yasuni National Park, a World Biosphere Reserve.
Except that, according to the Minister of Energy and Mines, a constitutional problem does not make it possible to respect the result of the referendum: the ” Yes won well across the country, but not locally. In the Amazonian province of Orellana, where the exploitation of block 43 ITT-Yasuni gives work to many, the population opposed the cessation of exploitation by 58% of the votes. According to Art. 57 of the Constitution, local people have the final say in matters of exploitation.
The government therefore decided not to decide anything. It will prepare a plan for the dismantling of the oil installations for the next authorities from the second round of the presidential election on October 15. In the meantime, oil exploitation will continue in the Yasuni, contributing 1.5 billion euros to the national budget each year.
” The one-year deadline is physically impossible to meet, unless using bulldozersMr. Santos said. It is a process (of dismantling) very complex, never in the history of oil (…) such a large field, which produces 60,000 barrels per day, has been closed so suddenly Mr. Santos told reporters. He added that this dismantling includes “ the dismantling of installations, which represent thousands of tons of steel, cables, installations of all kinds “.
Located in Yasuni National Park, this deposit occupies 80 hectares in an area of almost one million hectares. In operation since 2016, its current yield is the fourth nationally.