Calgary-based Parex Resources secures 26 new oil exploration blocks in Colombia

Published by Brent Patterson on

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PBI-Colombia tweet: “Heather Neun from @PBIcanada with the support of @Credhos_Paz seeing in person the environmental effects, including water sources, produced by the Canadian company Parex Resources in the village of El Diviso in Bajo Simacota.”

On January 18, La Republica reported that 30 new contracts valued at US$148.5 million have been awarded for the exploration and production of crude oil in Colombia.

Those 30 new agreements bring the total to 69 agreements.

Colombia’s Minister of Mines and Energy, Diego Mesa, says: “Before the Colombia 2021 Round, we had 39 contracts signed, with a committed investment of US$3.6 billion.”

La Republica adds: “Parex Resources will be the company with the most area allocations, with an investment of more than US$85 million.”

Parex Resources Inc. is a Calgary-based company.

Portafolio has also reported with 26 blocks to Parex, 5 blocks to Canacol Energy Ltd. (which operates as CNE Oil and Gas in Colombia), 4 to Gran Tierra Energy and 4 to Frontera Energy, 39 of the 69 blocks awarded between 2019 to 2021 went to four Canadian companies.

This is happening in the context of extreme danger for environmental and human rights defenders.

Deutsche Welle reports Colombia’s human rights ombudsman, Carlos Camargo, announced on January 17 that 145 civil society leaders were killed in the country in 2021. Those killed include human rights activists, community leaders and environmental activists.

That article adds: “The people killed — 120 men and 25 women — represented Indigenous peoples, led farming collectives or were union organizers.”

Despite this, Canada does not have due diligence legislation in place that recognizes and addresses (through enforcement mechanisms and meaningful consequences) the dangers faced by human rights defenders who challenge the impacts of Canadian transnational corporations and investment banks on their communities.

Canada has also refused to call on Colombia to ratify the Escazú Agreement, a legally-binding mechanism to protect environmental defenders.

Given the absence of legislative frameworks for protection and the dangers faced by environmental defenders challenging conventional and unconventional fossil fuel projects in Colombia, we continue to follow this situation with concern.

Chart from La Republica.


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