LIMA, (Reuters) – Canada-based PetroTal TAL.V said yesterday it may halt operations at one of its Peruvian oil fields in the heart of the Amazon rainforest due to a river blockade led by indigenous communities that has prevented the transport of crude.
The protest is taking place in Peru’s Block 95, in the vast but sparsely populated Loreto region. PetroTal said it was producing about 20,000 barrels of oil per day before the blockade started a week ago, but operations have since dwindled.
Peru’s remote Amazonian oil fields are often the center of dispute with indigenous communities who complain of recurrent oil spills that have polluted the surrounding rainforest and a lack of meaningful benefits to their living conditions.
Peru has seen a rise in protests against extractive industries including its key mining sector since leftist President Pedro Castillo took office in July. Peru is the world’s No. 2 copper producer and Castillo has said he wants to boost oil production in the country to lessen its dependence on imports.
PetroTal said protests in Block 95 last year had prevented the production of some 500,000 barrels of oil, or about 25 days worth of production at its normal pace.
Reuters could not reach residents of the communities leading the blockade for comment.