2022 Callao Oil spill
Aerial view of the oil spill on the coast of Callao
Date15 January 2022
LocationPeru Ventanilla District, Callao, Peru
Coordinates11°55′14.9″S 77°8′33.4″W / 11.920806°S 77.142611°W / -11.920806; -77.142611
TypeOil spill
Cause2022 Hunga Tonga–Hunga Ha'apai eruption and tsunami
AccusedRepsol

The 2022 Callao oil spill is a crude oil spill that occurred on 15 January 2022, on the coast of the Ventanilla district in the constitutional province of Callao, Peru, after abnormal waves caused by the volcanic eruption in Tonga and alleged negligence on the side of company Repsol.[1] It has been qualified by the Environmental Assessment and Control Agency as the greatest ecological disaster that has occurred in Peru.

Facts

The spill began in the early morning of 15 January 2022 during the process of unloading crude oil at the La Pampilla refinery of the Spanish company Repsol in Callao. Initially, Repsol indicated that only 7 gallons of crude oil had been spilled,[2] but in the morning it was found that the magnitude of the disaster was vastly greater, calculating 6,000 barrels dumped into the sea.

According to the Agency for Environmental Assessment and Enforcement (OEFA), the oil spill affects some 1,187 km2 (458 sq mi) of sea and 1,740 km2 (670 sq mi) of beach-coastal strip, about 17 beaches have been affected from the La Pampilla refinery to Peralvillo beach in Chancay and more than 500 ha (1,200 acres) of the protected natural areas of the National Reserve System of Guaneras Islands, Islets and Points and the Reserved Zone of Ancón.[3][4]

Peru's Environment Minister, Rubén Ramírez Mateo, stated that the oil company did not immediately report the accident to the Peruvian government, and that the fine could amount to 138 million soles, about 35 million dollars.[5]

Government response

On Wednesday, 19 January, the President of the Republic, Pedro Castillo, flew over the areas affected by the oil spill.[6] The following day, he signed a supreme decree declaring the climate emergency of national interest.[7] The Peruvian Prosecutor's Office opened an investigation for environmental contamination against the La Pampilla Refinery. For its part, Repsol defends that neither the Peruvian government nor the Navy issued tsunami alerts on the Peruvian coast, so its operations were not suspended.

References

  1. ↑ elDiario.es, EFE/ (19 January 2022). "Un derrame de Repsol en Perú causa "el peor desastre ecológico ocurrido en Lima"" [A Repsol spill in Peru causes "the worst ecological disaster in Lima"]. ElDiario.es (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 31 January 2022. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
  2. ↑ PERÚ, NOTICIAS EL COMERCIO (18 January 2022). "Ministro del Ambiente, Rubén Ramírez, sobre derrame de petróleo en mar de Ventanilla: "La Pampilla reportó solamente un incidente mínimo" nndc | LIMA" [Environment Minister, Rubén Ramírez, on the oil spill in the Ventanilla Sea: "La Pampilla reported only a minor incident" nndc | LIMA]. El Comercio Perú (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 31 January 2022. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
  3. ↑ "Comunicado del Organismo de Evaluación y Fiscalización Ambiental (OEFA)" [Statement from the Environmental Assessment and Enforcement Agency (OEFA)]. Gob.pe (Plataforma digital única del Estado Peruano) (in Spanish). 20 January 2022. Archived from the original on 31 January 2022. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
  4. ↑ Fowks, Jacqueline (19 January 2022). "Un derrame de petróleo en el mar contamina dos reservas naturales en Perú" [An oil spill in the sea contaminates two nature reserves in Peru]. El País (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 31 January 2022. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
  5. ↑ "Ministro Ramírez sobre derrame de petróleo: "Habrá una sanción de hasta 30 mil UIT"" [Minister Ramírez on oil spill: "There will be a penalty of up to 30 thousand UIT"]. EXITOSA NOTICIAS - NOTICIAS DEL PERU Y EL MUNDO (in Spanish). 18 January 2022. Archived from the original on 31 January 2022. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
  6. ↑ PERÚ, Empresa Peruana de Servicios Editoriales S. A. EDITORA. "Presidente Castillo sobrevuela zonas afectadas por derrame de petróleo" [President Castillo flies over areas affected by oil spill]. andina.pe (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 31 January 2022. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
  7. ↑ "Ventanilla: Jefe de Estado firma decreto que declara de interés nacional la emergencia climática" [Window: Head of State signs decree declaring the climate emergency of national interest]. elperuano.pe (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 31 January 2022. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
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