Vietnam buys into Peru’s controversial oil fields

PetroVietnam has taken on oil blocks in an area inhabited by uncontacted tribes

Vietnamese oil company PetroVietnam has bought a stake in two Peruvian oil blocks in a region known to be inhabited by uncontacted tribes.

The company has bought a 52.6% stake in Anglo-French Perenco’s block 67 and 35% of block 39 owned by Spanish company Repsol.

Both blocks lie near the Ecuador border in the northern Peruvian Amazon.

The European companies have been globally criticized for carrying out damaging oil work in the region despite evidence that uncontacted tribes live there.

The Indians could be decimated if oil exploration continues as they lack immunity to diseases brought by outsiders.

A 200km pipeline is planned by Perenco to cut across the Indians’ territory, increasing the devastating possibility of unwanted contact.

Perenco denies the uncontacted tribes exist and has repeatedly cited an anthropological report as proof.

But in May this year British newspaper The Guardian published evidence that the report had omitted material showing that the tribes are present in the area.

Now PetroVietnam faces condemnation from Peru’s indigenous organizations who are demanding the right of uncontacted Indians to be left alone.