Canadian company confirms ExxonMobil’s Platero fracking pilot project is the VMM-37 block near Puerto Wilches, Colombia

To hear Colombian social leaders speak about Platero/VMM-37, please register for this bilingual webinar on Thursday April 29.

This morning, Toronto-based Sintana Energy Inc. released this statement that confirms the recently approved ExxonMobil Platero fracking pilot project is the VMM-37 block in the Magdalena Medio region of Colombia.

Their statement reads: “Sintana Energy Inc. is pleased to comment on the ExxonMobil Exploration Colombia Limited bid for a Comprehensive Research Pilot Project (CEPI) in the unconventional formations of Block VMM-37 (Project Platero) and its acceptance and award by Colombia’s National Hydrocarbons Agency (ANH).”

Sintana Energy operates in Colombia through its wholly-owned subsidiary Patriot Energy that holds a 30 per cent interest in VMM-37.

The company notes: “Sintana is encouraged by the ANH’s acceptance of ExxonMobil’s bid for Project Platero and its award of a CEPI contract.”

And it highlights: “CEPI process should now provide an effective path forward for the testing and production of source rock hydrocarbons in future operations.”

Webinar on fracking and extractivism

Colombian social leaders have been raising concerns about the environmental and human rights consequences of fracking and conventional fossil fuel extractivism.

We are organizing a bilingual webinar (in Spanish and English) on Thursday April 29 at 3:30 pm EDT (2:30 pm in Colombia) to help bring public attention to these concerns.

The webinar will include a discussion on:

1- community opposition in Puerto Wilches to both the ExxonMobil Platero and Ecopetrol Kale fracking pilot projects

2- the death threats that are being received by environmental defenders opposed to fracking in the Magdalena Medio region

3- the status of the proposed law now being debated in the Colombian Congress to ban fracking (and the role ExxonMobil has played globally to stop climate legislation)

4- the concern that fracking in Colombia would violate Colombia’s obligations as a signatory to the Paris climate agreement

5- the United Nations Human Rights Council resolution that highlights the crucial role played by environmental human rights defenders in assisting the State to fulfil their obligations under the Paris climate agreement

6- the role played by Export Development Canada (EDC) in facilitating the participation of Canadian corporations in controversial oil and gas projects in Colombia

7- the concerns being raised about the limited recourse provided to impacted communities through the new Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise (CORE).

To register for this webinar now, click here.

Webinar panel: Colombian environmental defenders Ivan Madero, Yuli Velasquez, Oscar Sampayo, Yuvelis Natalia Morales, plus Karen Hamilton (Above Ground), Luis van Isschot (Peace Brigades International-Canada).