Lima, February 18, 2022. The president of Repsol Peru, Jaime Fernández-Cuesta, has presented the plan for the remediation work that the company will carry out in the different areas affected by the Mare Doricum spill on January 15. The cleanup of the sea and the coastline is already 79% complete and, according to the president of Repsol Peru, the company will continue to carry out a series of actions “to return the Peruvian coastline to its natural state.”
Fernández-Cuesta stressed that the company will continue to work “in close collaboration with the authorities, applying the highest international standards and using all the economic, human and technical means at our disposal.”
The cleanup of the sea surface will be completed this week. By the end of February, the work on accessible beaches will be completed, while difficult-to-access areas (rocky cliffs) will be completed in March.
In relation to the situation at sea, Lamor, a world leader in spill cleanup and remediation, has prepared a report according to which, as of February 15, 97.9% of the spilled product, which was found at sea and on land had been collected, and there were no residues on the seabed. The report uses a methodology designed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of the United States (NOAA) and simulation models, which include analysis of the type of product spilled, local sea conditions and behavior in other spills in the world. This analysis will be ratified with studies at sea in the next activity phase.
In this last phase of beach cleanup, the SCAT methodology is being applied, an internationally recognized technique for shoreline assessment which determines the best cleanup practices for each site based on the characteristics of the terrain. This methodology was developed by Dr. Edward Owens, who has been collaborating with Repsol together with a team of experts and specialized companies.
Once the treatments defined in the SCATs have been completed and in accordance with the protocol that the company has proposed and submitted to OEFA to complete the cleanup stage, Repsol, together with representatives of NOAA, International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation Limited (ITOPF) and Owens Coastal Consultants (OCC), the specialist company that prepared the SCATs, will verify compliance with the cleanup milestones in the coastline.
In accordance with current Peruvian legislation, the completion of cleanup activity will be communicated to OEFA for validation. After the competent authority verifies that the established criteria have been met, the corresponding sampling and analysis will be carried out, through which they will define the areas that need to be subjected to a Rehabilitation Plan. Depending on the characteristics of the coastal areas where these plans need to be applied, a range of techniques will be used following the highest international standards, such as bioremediation, mechanical remediation, mineral stabilization and different types of washing. During the rehabilitation phase, the evaluation of environmental and social impacts of the areas affected by the spill will continue.
Fernández-Cuesta also reiterated the company’s commitment “to remedy the damage that the spill has caused to the communities in the area” and has indicated that the support that the company is offering to those affected will continue “until the beaches and the sea are suitable for the resumption of their various productive activities.”
Repsol has been providing support to more than 3,374 people, grouped in 46 collectives of fishermen and merchants of Chancay, Ancon, Santa Rosa and Ventanilla. The types of support, as well as the periodicity of deliveries, have been previously agreed with these communities. Likewise, in coordination with the affected population, it is developing medium and long-term support plans.