First modification:
With more than 90% of the votes counted, 59% of Ecuadorians decided that oil exploitation should be stopped in Block 43-ITT, one of the largest in the country, located in the Yasuní National Park in the Amazon.
The state-owned Petroecuador has up to one year to dismantle oil exploitation in a block located in one of the main fields in Ecuador, after a national plebiscite in which the “yes” vote prevailed in favor of suspending this activity.
The result, which threatens to raise controversy, occurred after the elections on Sunday, August 20 in Ecuador, which were not only decisive for the Presidency, but also included two key plebiscites – one national and one local – for the mining-energy sector.
First, voters were asked whether or not they supported the initiative to “keep oil underground” in an important oil field located within the Yasuní National Park, considered the heart of the Ecuadorian Amazon.
The elections, in which more than 13.4 million citizens were called to vote, had a participation of more than 82% and, according to preliminary figures from the National Electoral Council (CNE), slightly more than 93% of minutes on the oil plebiscite is already processed.
The “yes” in favor of stopping exploitation in Block 43-ITT, in which the South American country produces some 55,000 barrels of crude oil per day or around 11% of its total production of 480,000 barrels per day, reaches 58, 99%
Environment vs. economy
The consultation weighed two different points of view: indigenous and environmental concerns against billions in potential lost revenue.
Environmental activists and communities near the sites say the bans are necessary to protect nature, fight climate change and, in the case of the Yasuní vote, safeguard some Waorani Indians who are voluntarily isolated.
But oil and mining unions say their industries are needed to prop up Ecuador’s battered economy and that bans would expose areas to illegal mining and deforestation.
Some indigenous people in the area also rejected the popular consultation, alleging that their livelihood is at stake.
One year for decommissioning
The ruling of the Constitutional Court, which gave the green light to the plebiscite, says that the State has one year to dismantle the facilities, but Petroecuador has declared that it is materially impossible to achieve it.
The Government calculates that the cessation of operations in Block 43-ITT will cause a state damage of 1,200 million dollars a year for the sale of crude oil and that its clearing will cost more than 500 million dollars.
Ecuador is a country highly dependent on oil, which contributes more than a third of its exports, its first export line, followed by far by shrimp and bananas, according to figures from the Central Bank.
With EFE and Reuters
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