According to Peru bizmedia Gestión today, the brand new Minister of Energy and Mining in Peru, Eleodoro Mayorga, plans to give oil companies a free pass on environmental impact studies for hydrocarbons projects in the Amazon Basin regions of the country. This move is to help accelerate investment in the O&G sector. He said (quote translated):
“Environmental Impact Studues will be eliminated for seismic activities. The industry has rules, has principles, has well-established practices and the idea is to move from permitting and bureaucracy to action.”
What could possibly go wrong? After all, we know that when left unregulated, oil companies have a history of the highest possible standards of environmental responsibility and will always voluntarily set aside a large portion of their cash to keep things all neat and tidy in environmentally sensitive zones, don’t we? Environmental watchdog groups won’t have a problem with this new proposal, I’m quite sure. Expect warm greetings from local indigenous protection groups, too.