Peru opens a sanctioning procedure against Repsol for alleged “false information”

Lima, 14 Mar The Environmental Assessment and Control Agency (OEFA) announced on Monday that it has initiated a new administrative sanctioning procedure against the La Pampilla refinery, which Repsol operates, “for the alleged submission of false information” in the preliminary report on the oil spill that occurred on May 15 January in the Lima Sea. The agency explained that the procedure is initiated “to determine whether there is administrative liability for the failure to comply with an environmental obligation that can be monitored by the administrator, the consequence of which is the imposition of a sanction”. As OEFA noted in a statement, in the Preliminary Report of Environmental Emergencies following the spill, the refinery informed it of a 0.16 barrel oil spill that affected an area of 2.5 square meters. “To date, it has been found that the spill has exceeded 10,000 barrels of oil and the affected area reaches an area of 11,061 hectares,” the agency emphasized. He added that, for this reason, a fine of up to 1,000 tax units (ITU), equivalent to 4.6 million soles ($1.2 million), would be applicable. In this regard, he explained that so far it has initiated administrative sanctioning proceedings against Repsol “whose fines could exceed 59 million soles” (some 15.9 million dollars) for various infringements. “The OEFA, as the environmental control authority, reaffirms its commitment to continue to carry out daily monitoring and impose the respective sanctions when detecting non-compliance by Repsol,” concluded the Peruvian state agency. The oil spill occurred on January 15, when the Italian ship Mare Doricum discharged fuel to the underwater pipelines of the La Pampilla refinery, which Repsol operates in the municipality of Ventanilla, in Lima's Callao province. At first, the company reported that it was a leak of 0.16 barrels (about 25 liters) and that it had been caused by “anomalous waves” caused by a volcanic eruption in Tonga. Three days later, Repsol raised that figure to 6,000 barrels, although it finally estimated that it would have been 10,400, even less than the 11,900 estimated by the Peruvian government (1.9 million liters). Last Friday, OEFA lifted the temporary halt of hydrocarbon loading and unloading activities at La Pampilla Multibuoy Terminal 1, but held the Multibuoys 2 and 3 terminals, and Monobuoya T-4 in detention. At the beginning of March, Repsol reported that to date it has already recorded 89% progress in its cleaning schedule and first response actions against the spill in the sea and beaches of Lima and Callao. In addition, the transnational company signed an agreement with the Peruvian Government in which it undertakes to deliver 3,000 soles (about 805 dollars) as an advance of compensation to some 5,000 fishermen and traders affected by the spill. After the spill, a judge ordered four Repsol managers, including its executive director in Peru, Jaime Fernández Cuesta, to be prevented from leaving the country for 18 months as part of an investigation into the alleged commission of the crime of environmental pollution. On Monday, Repsol's Refining Director Carlos Paiva; Repsol Production Manager José Marín Gómez; Reliability and Maintenance Manager of La Pampilla Refinery, Roberto Wong; and Tanks and Terminals Manager Sebastián Guzmán, were also ordered to leave the country for 15 months.