An agreement was reached between Lima and the Spanish oil company Repsol after the oil spill caused on January 15 during the unloading of a tanker off the La Pampilla refinery, 30 km north of Lima.
With our correspondent in Quito, Eric Samson
The thousands of Peruvians affected by the consequences of the oil spill last January will be compensated. Repsol oil company undertakes to pay up to 3,000 soles per person as an advance President Pedro Castillo’s chief of staff said on Twitter. These approximately 730 euros will be handed over quickly to enable fishermen and traders to bear the economic consequences of the oil spill.
According to the Peruvian government, at least 5,000 people were directly affected by the accidental spill of 12,000 barrels of crude oil. This payment is only the first in a series that promises to be long for Repsol.
Hundreds of unemployed fishermen
Pushed by the currents up to 140 kilometers north of the refinery, the oil slick put hundreds of artisanal fishermen out of workhit the tourism sector hard as the austral summer began and led to the death of thousands of fish and seabirds.
All the people who consider themselves victims of the oil spill are entitled to individual compensation which will depend on the damage suffered. The 3,000 soles which will be paid quickly are therefore only a first payment, only a temporary solution. Repsol, in a statement, also recalled that it has already released emergency aid of 800,000 euros and confirms its ” commitment to remedy the damage that the oil spill has caused to communities in the affected area “.
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Repsol assured on February 18 that it had collected 98% of the oil spilled, although this volume differs from the figures estimated by the Peruvian authorities. The Ministry of the Environment estimates that at least 1,400 hectares of land and sea have been affected, including 500 hectares of protected marine fauna reserve.