The presidency of the Peruvian ministerial cabinet indicated in a message on Twitter that “the Government gets Repsol to sign an agreement for care and economic compensation in favor of those affected by the oil spill in the Ventanilla Sea”, a district 30 km from the Peruvian capital and where Repsol’s La Pampilla refinery is located.
“Based on a list that will be agreed upon, the company agrees to deliver up to 3,000 soles (about 789 dollars) per person as an advance payment of compensation,” within a week after the list is closed, the government detailed.
The agreement signed by Aníbal Torres, chief of staff of President Pedro Castillo, and the president of Repsol Peru, Jaime Fernández-Cuesta, leaves the door open to set “the final amount for the damage.”
The beneficiaries are expected to include artisanal fishermen and merchants from coastal areas, who lost their jobs due to the contamination of waters, fauna and beaches caused by the spill of 11,900 barrels of oil.
Since the accident occurred on January 15, those affected have carried out several protests at the doors of the Repsol refinery, demanding that their claims for the forced stoppage of their productive activity be addressed.
The Peruvian government estimates that at least 5,000 fishermen and merchants from the districts of Ancón, Santa Rosa, Ventanilla, Aucallama and Chancay were affected by the oil spill.
Repsol, in a statement, reiterated its “commitment to remedy the damage that the spill has caused to the communities in the affected area”, and added that it has already provided aid for around 3.3 million soles (about 868,000 dollars). ).
In addition, he insisted that the accident was due to the “uncontrolled movement” of the tanker “Mare Doricum” after the waves caused by the volcanic eruption in Tonga.
For this reason, it has filed a claim with the Italian company Fratelli d’Amico Armadori, owner of the “Mare Doricum”.
The Spanish company reported on February 18 that it had collected 98% of the spilled oil, although this volume differed then from the numbers estimated by the Peruvian authorities.
The Ministry of the Environment calculates that at least 1,400 hectares of sea and land have been affected, and some 500 hectares of protected marine fauna reserves.
To date, Repsol has paid some 363,000 dollars to the Peruvian State in fines for the spill.
