Ecuador seeks partner to stop gas flaring as anger rises in the Amazon
June 17, 2022
12:17 AM CDT
Last Updated an hour ago
By Alexandra Valencia
5 minute read
JOYA DE LOS SACHAS, Ecuador, June 17 (Reuters) - Ecuador oil company Petroecuador says it is working to shut down gas flares in the Amazon to comply with a court-imposed deadline, but progress is too slow for nearby communities who allege the flares cause cancer and other illnesses.
A provincial tribunal in Sucumbios province last year ordered Petroecuador and a handful of private operators to stop hundreds of flares - which burn off natural gas emitted during oil production when there is no infrastructure to capture it - in inhabited areas by March 2023.
Flaring last year released 400 million tonnes of greenhouse gases globally, according to the World Bank, and researchers have warned of health problems from cancer to respiratory disease associated with the practice.
The state-owned company is hoping to find a private partner to invest in technology needed to capture the 65 million cubic feet of gas emitted daily by flares, which flame constantly above verdant treetops.
More:
https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/ecuador-seeks-partner-stop-gas-flaring-anger-rises-amazon-2022-06-17/
Flare in Shushuqui, Sucumbíos province, in the Ecuadoran Amazon. Image by Nicolas Mainville/Amazon Frontlines.
