The oil company Repsol was sued in a court in the Netherlands for about 1 billion dollars (912 million euros) due to the 2022 crude oil spill at the La Pampilla refinery, in the north of Lima, according to local media and media reported this Friday. confirmed the company.
"We have learned that La Pampilla Refinery has been sued before a Dutch court on behalf of a group of people allegedly affected by the spill. To date, we are reviewing the scope of the claim," detailed a statement from Repsol, which did not confirm the amount of the claim.
According to the newspaper El Comercio, the lawsuit was filed by the international law firm Pogust Goodhead for the loss of thousands of jobs.
In Repsol's opinion, this lawsuit "has no basis", although it explained that the La Pampilla refinery "is respectful of the right of people to go to the justice system when they consider it necessary."
"However, based on similar experiences, we consider that this case should be addressed in Peru," the company added.
El Comercio, which spoke with the plaintiffs, reported that the class action lawsuit gathers more than 34,000 signatures from affected fishermen and residents of Ancón, Aucallama, Chancay, Huacho, Santa Rosa and Ventanilla.
Always according to the plaintiffs, "what is sought is economic compensation for the damages generated after the spill of some 12,000 barrels of oil on January 15, 2022, which implied the paralysis of artisanal fishing and the closure of beaches in force until today. ".
The newspaper detailed that now the court must "hold a first hearing in June to determine whether the lawsuit proceeds in its jurisdiction of The Hague."
For its part, Repsol recalled in its statement that, to date, "the company has allocated more than 1,000 million soles for cleaning, remediation and compensation tasks."
"98% of those affected identified by the Peruvian Government have received their full compensation," he added.
"Likewise, according to all the measurements of accredited laboratories and the results published in the reports of the environmental authorities of Peru, the water in the sea and the affected beaches have long met the highest standards of environmental quality, both national as international," he added.
In this regard, he considered that the beaches that were affected "are suitable for the return of tourist and fishing activities in the area."
