Almost the entire Ombú oil block, operated by Emerald Energy, overlaps Colombia’s Macarena Special Management Area, created to conserve connectivity between the Andean, Amazon and Orinoquía natural regions. The project, now suspended after social protests, exposes the tensions caused by hydrocarbon extraction in protected areas without clear regulations.
Tag: oil
Fueling Ecocide: 7,000 protected areas are threatened by oil and gas projects worldwide
The “Fueling Ecocide” investigation, led by Environmental Investigative Forum (EIF) and European Investigative Collaborations (EIC), reveals that oil and gas licences overlap with 7,000 protected areas worldwide. The total overlap is 690,000 km², an area bigger than the size of France — despite existing regulations and ongoing efforts to safeguard key biodiversity zones.
Without global consensus, Brazil seeks a roadmap with scientists and oil companies to keep the fossil fuel phase-out proposal alive
Amid diplomatic progress and domestic contradictions, Brazil tries to turn its proposal to gradually eliminate oil, gas, and coal into a global roadmap. Studies backing the roadmap presented in Belém are set to involve international agencies, scientists, and representatives from the oil sector, while the country keeps exploration of new reserves in the Amazon open.
Colombia declares itself the first nation in the Amazon with its entire forest free from oil and mining activities
Colombia’s minister of environment and sustainable development, Irene Vélez Torres, made the announcement Thursday (Nov. 13) at a meeting of Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO) ministers during COP30.
IBAMA license for block 59 paves the way for a new oil rush in the Amazon
The well will be drilled on the Brazilian equatorial margin, home to the world’s largest continuous strip of mangroves and the Great Amazon Reef System. Another 19 blocks were auctioned in the region in July of this year.
Oil companies exploit Indigenous disputes to dominate territories in Ecuador, filling the role of the state
Over the past 30 years, the three companies that have managed Block 10, an oil extraction site in the Ecuadorian Amazon, have sought to divide local communities and increase their reliance on their corporations. However, Indigenous leaders and organizations are actively pushing back against these efforts.
Oil generates royalties, but not development in the Peruvian Amazon
Oil exploration in Peru generates millions for public works, but only half the funds had reached Amazonian municipalities by 2023. The city of Mazán exemplifies this gap between revenue generated and tangible benefits for the population.
Indigenous communities in the Colombian Amazon decry oil pollution and threats posed by guerrillas
President Gustavo Petro pledged to halt oil and gas exploration in the Amazon. However, Colombia faces a complex challenge, with the oil industry, armed groups, and Indigenous communities vying for control of the same territories.
How we investigated ExxonMobil and its promise of carbon neutrality in Guyana
An exclusive analysis by InfoAmazonia reveals a disconnect between the ExxonMobil-led consortium’s operations in Guyana and their environmental impacts, such as the practice of flaring and promises of compensation through carbon credits.
ExxonMobil builds ‘petro-state’ in Guyana, amid warnings of environmental disaster
Guyana’s rapid ascent to major oil producer status, fueled by the giant US oil company, has come at a steep price: rising inequality, weakened environmental regulations, unchecked gas flaring, and growing foreign influence.