The following may be of interest to the group.
It seems the pipline will go through the sensitive Cloud Forests of Mindo in
northern Ecuador despite worldwide appeals!
Dear Mr. O'Sullivan:
Thank you for your
letter of January 2001 with respect to the Oleoducto de
Crudos Pesados (OCP)
Pipeline Project in Ecuador.
I want to affirm to you that Occidental
Petroleum Corporation is committed
to environmental preservation, and, as
shareholder of the OCP consortium, we
have insisted on the highest standards
for the preparation of the
Environmental Impact Study for the OCP Pipeline
Project. OCP has consulted
with a number of environmental
organizations, other local stakeholder groups
and the Government of Ecuador
to better understand and address concerns
regarding the environmental impact
of the project.
The proposed northern routing was selected only after
extensive
environmental and technical review and comparison with other
proposed
routes. The environmental impact study presently being
completed includes
an evaluation of physical, biotic, archaeological,
socioeconomic, technical
and safety criteria for both the northern and
southern routes. Based on
these criteria, the conclusion of the route
analysis indicates that the
northern route is the best choice, both
technically and environmentally. All
phases of construction will be subject
to the highest standards of
environmental mitigation techniques, including
state of the art engineering
design and construction methods, reclamation,
monitoring and contingency
planning.
We have received correspondence
from numerous groups and individual
suggesting that the southern route is the
preferable route because of
environmental considerations. This
conclusion is more than a little
puzzling because, to our knowledge, no
extensive environmental evaluations
of the southern route had ever been
undertaken other than the environmental
review commissioned by OCP Ltd.
As a result, some of the advantages that
have been attributed to the southern
route may, in fact, not have been
thoroughly reviewed from both a technical
and environmental perspective.
The northern route was selected by OCP Ltd.
and approved by the Ecuadorian
government, as the preferred option, after
taking into consideration all
environmental and related issues.
In
conclusion, we would like to emphasize again, that as shareholder of OCP
Ltd.
consortium, Occidental is committed to ensuring that the OCP Pipeline
Project
meets the highest standards of environmental compliance.
I appreciate
your comments and concern about the OCP Pipeline Project. With
the
application of state-of-the-art technology and adherence to
strict
environmental guidelines, this project will leave the smallest
possible
footprint on the surrounding environment. Should you have
additional
questions, please do not hesitate to contact
me.
Sincerely,
Lawrence P. Meriage, Ph.D.
Vice
President
Communications & Public
Affairs
