"Major banks support rainforest oil project despite problems", 4 Nov 2022

In the Putumayo region of the Colombian Amazon, Segundo Meneses....noticed a dark film lapping the shore... It was an oil slick that he says went on to sicken his young family and poison their cows and pigs.

The British law firm Leigh Day is... suing Amerisur, the oil company operating in the region, on behalf of 171 Putumayo farmers... [The] spill was not the only complication with this particular oil operation. Nearby Siona Indigenous people say they reject the oil pumping and will fight it. This region is also awash in coca production and former rebel groups dispute drug territory, sometimes disrupting the flow of oil. Then there are reports by United Nations rapporteurs and an interfaith non-profit group that say the oil company, Amerisur Resources PLC, may have worked with rebels to pressure the Siona and local farmers to cease their opposition in order to keep oil flowing.

Yet none of this seemed to deter an $900 million oil and gas firm based in Chile named GeoPark Ltd. from buying Amerisur two years ago. GeoPark successfully lined up banks to help it obtain the Putumayo oilfields...

Citibank and Itaú Unibanco offered GeoPark a bridge loan. The company then looked to banks for help issuing $350 million worth of bonds to pay for the purchase... Brazilian Itaú Unibanco and Citibank served as “bookrunners” on the bonds, and the Bank of New York Mellon agreed to facilitate payments on them...

Bank of America, Credit Suisse and JPMorgan advised on issuing another $150 million in bonds...

According to court documents [filed with the British High Court], an armed group attacked five Amerisur oil tanker trucks and forced the drivers to empty their loads of crude oil into a wetland, where it flowed into the Agua Negra tributary...

For a long time afterwards, the cassava and plantain farmers say, their water was contaminated.

Fishing became impossible, said Meneses, the edible fish gone...

In the dry season, the family had no choice but to drink from and wash in the river, which gave them diarrhea, rashes and stomach aches...

GeoPark’s spokesperson said the company has caused no contamination, maintains the highest standards to protect the environment, and is committed to compensation for any negative impacts. Amerisur, now Amerisur Resources Ltd, cleaned up the spilled oil, the spokesperson said, and would defend itself in the courts...

For critics, the Amerisur assets should never have found a buyer, or financing...

[In regards to claims of collaboration with rebel groups, a spokesperson said] “GeoPark has never had any relationship with illegal armed groups and demands the same of its employees and the entire supply chain"...

Citibank, Itaú Unibanco, and the Bank of New York Mellon all said environmental issues were of great importance to them. BNY Mellon said it provided no direct financing or loans. Citibank and Itaú also emphasized they seriously consider social risks and conduct due diligence...

Meanwhile, in the rainforest, oil pumping continues... British courts have ordered GeoPark to set aside 3.2 million pounds (U.S. $3.8 million) to pay if the farmers win.