“Colombia: The human cost of oil: A Human Rights Impact Assessment on the activities of Pacific Exploration & Production Corp. in Puerto Gaitán”
The petroleum sector, characterized by frequent and pronounced booms and busts, is one of the largest sources of revenue in Colombia...More than half of the country’s oil is produced in the department of Meta, where the majority is extracted in the municipality of Puerto Gaitan. However, the social and economic context in Puerto Gaitan is marked by poverty2, a lack of access to public services such as education and health care, unemployment, inadequate working conditions, social conflicts, repression, the criminalization of community leaders and trade unionists, corruption, environmental damage, and the acculturation of indigenous communities living in reserves located near oil installations. This study documents and analyzes the impacts that oil exploration and extraction activities have had on the human rights and the environment of local communities in Puerto Gaitan, with a particular focus on the Rubiales-Piriri (hereinafter Rubiales) and Quifa oil concessions, carried out by the Canadian company Pacific Exploration & Production Corp. (hereinafter Pacific) in association…with the Colombian company Ecopetrol…On July 1, 2016 operations at the Rubiales concession were turned over in their entirety to the majority state-owned company Ecopetrol. Due to the drop in oil prices, among other factors, Pacific has entered into insolvency proceedings in Canada to avoid bankruptcy. This transition, combined with a lack of state initiatives, has raised deep concerns regarding accountability and possible reparations for social and environmental liabilities incurred over the previous years..