MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Second oil spill spotted near Repsol refinery in Peru

The first spill north of Lima has already made the news worldwide due to its environmental consequences

A new oil spill has been spotted off the multi-buoy Terminal 2 of Repsol's La Pampilla refinery, Peru's Navy and the Environmental Assessment and Enforcement Agency (OEFA) reported Tuesday.

The General Directorate of Captaincies and Coastguards reported that during one of the inspection flights carried out to monitor the area affected by the displacement of hydrocarbons from La Pampilla on January 15, a new “oily stain” was found in the areas adjacent to that refinery.

The oil spill north of Lima, which has caused the death of animals and left the beaches blackened, has made the news worldwide due to its environmental consequences.

Peru's Navy said in a statement that after asking Repsol, the company told them that the oily oil stain “had leaked despite having carried out the work to remove the crude, before the execution of the inspection and repair” in the equipment used for submarine distribution of crude.

Meanwhile, OEFA reported in a separate statement that the “environmental supervision to verify responsibility for the events, the impact generated and the implementation of the contingency plan by the company” has already begun together with Osinergmin. The amount of oil spilled in the Pacific Ocean has not been specified so far.

The new spill occurred when work was being carried out before the removal of the PLEM (Pipeline End Manifolds), which consists of underwater equipment for the distribution of hydrocarbons, a maneuver which was deemed necessary to determine the cause of the Jan. 15 spill in Ventanilla.