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ECA Project Top 5 Alert List
1.
Camisea Oil & Gas Project
2. Sakhalin II Oil & Gas Invesment- RUSSIAN FAR
EAST
3. Caspian Sea Fossil Fuel Extraction - PROBLEMATIC
PROJECTS LOOMING
4. Bujagali Dam- Uganda
5. Chad-Cameroon Pipeline Project
More Information
Friends of the Earth is monitoring several problematic projects
that are either financed or under consideration for approval by
the U.S. Export-Import Bank and U.S. Overseas Private Investment
Corporation. Below are the current "Top 5" high priority
projects that should receive no U.S. taxpayer dollars. Projects
are selected for the alert list based on the magnitude of their
environmental and social impacts at a local level and their cause
for concern as models that are unsustainable at a global level (i.e.
climate change, biodiversity, water resources, etc.)
1. Camisea Oil & Gas Project
Status: With an estimated cost of US$2.8 billion, the Camisea project
involves the extraction of natural gas from an area known as Block
88-one of the richest areas of biological diversity in the world,
according to the Smithsonian Institute. The field contains an estimated
11 trillion cubic feet of gas and 600 million barrels of condensate.
Half of the extracted gas is slated to go to the United States to
supply the West Coast energy markets. Currently, the projected date
of completion for the pipeline is December 2003.
Dependent on
loans from several international financial institutions, including
the U.S. Ex-Im Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank, the
project entails the construction of transportation infrastructure,
wells, flow lines, a processing plant, as well as two pipelines
running west through the Andes to Lima and Callao (the capital city
and main seaport). The total emissions of the Camisea project is
expected to reach 133.2 million tons over its lifetime. This single
project's emissions are greater than those of all of Central and
South America combined (excluding Argentina and Brazil) in the year
2000, and more than the entire African continent combined (excluding
South Africa) for the same year, according to the Institute for
Policy Studies.
Background:
The Camisea gas project is located in the remote rainforests of
Urubamba Valley in the southeastern Peruvian Amazon. It is the first
major gas development in Peru. The concession covers the legally
recognized and titled territory of several nomadic, isolated, and
uncontacted indigenous peoples. The project has a history of problems,
with preliminary exploration of the region in the mid-'80s exposing
indigenous peoples to whooping cough, small pox, and influenza,
killing an estimated 50% of the Nahua population. According to the
World Wide Fund for Nature, with the continuation of the project,
as many as 15,000 local people would be "severely affected."
For more information
on this project please see www.amazonwatch.org
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2. Sakhalin
II Oil & Gas Invesment- RUSSIAN FAR EAST
Status: Fossil
fuel extraction underway US ECA Funding Sources: OPIC for first
phase of Sakhalin II. Ex-Im may considering financing the expansion
phase. Cumulative Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Sakhalin II will result
in 1129.9 tons of carbon dioxide emissions over its lifetime under
the Pace University Methodology.
Background: According to Sakhalin Energy, Sakhalin II will deliver
45,000 bbl/day. Sakhalin II holds estimated reserves of 1 billion
barrels of oil in the Piltun Astokhskoye field, and 14 trillion
cubic feet of gas in the Lunskoye field. The project will having
negative impacts on the Endangered Grey Whale.
In 1997, OPIC committed to a $116 million loan guaranty for the
project. The $650 million first phase of Sakhalin II is being undertaken
by Sakhalin Energy Investment Company, Ltd., in which Houston, Texas-based
Marathon Oil Company was a 37.5 percent interest. Marathon was the
stated client of OPIC, however after Marathon pulled out of the
consortium, OPIC financing remained despite no U.S. companies in
the consortium.
OPIC did not comply with NEPA before deciding to finance this project.
Sakhalin II is currently under operation.
In addition to the climate change impacts of this project a number
of other environmental and social concerns are being brought about
by Sakhalin II. Please see the following links for additional project
information: http://www.pacificenvironment.org/infocenter/Articles/Sakhalinecology.htm
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3. Caspian
Sea Fossil Fuel Extraction- PROBLEMATIC PROJECTS LOOMING
The Caspian Sea pipelines under consideration are the largest looming
oil extraction projects for export credit agencies /multilateral
development banks and are also a central focus of the globalization
chapter of the Bush Energy Plan.
OPIC and EXIM already have special "Caspian offices" set
up for these planned projects. Exploiting all proven fossil fuel
reserves, largely for export, is a central focus of the Bush/Cheney
Energy Plan (Chapter 8) and will use ECAs and MDBs as tools for
this operation. At the same time the Caspian region is one of the
world's most sensitive ecosystems and the climate change impacts
of exploiting all this oil, via US ECA financing, are staggering.
Additionally, there is little ability for individuals to speak out
against such megaprojects in this region of the world without facing
human rights abuses.
Proven oil reserves in Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan are about 20 billion
barrels, a little more than the North Sea and slightly less than
the U.S. Potential exports from the Caspian region could increase
by 1.8 billion bpd from the current 800 bpd by 2005, as the United
States works closely with private companies and countries in the
region to develop commercially viable export routes, such as the
Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyan (BTC) and Caspian Consortium oil pipelines. Moreover
there is concern that exports could grow even more.
Currently, FoE is supporting an effort led by Pacific Environment
and ISAR to bring 10 activists from the Caspian region to Washington,
D.C. by arranging for them to attend meetings FoE has set up with
World Bank and ECA financiers and to take part in FoE strategy meetings
regarding our international fossil fuel and mining campaign.
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4. Bujagali
Dam- Uganda
This large dam under consideration by European ECAs and the
International Finance Corporation will significantly and irreversibly
change the Nile River in Africa. The power from the dam is not economical
and environmental and social impacts will damage endangered species
and forcibly resettle several hundred farmers and villagers who
live nearby. The multinational corporation leading the project is
AES. Independent experts have documented that Bujagali will violate
the standards and guidelines set forth by the World Commission on
Dams. In addition, the Bujagali Dam would double the rates of electricity
in Uganda. Friends of the Earth has supported the efforts of international
and Ugandan NGOs to stop this monstrous dam from being built. The
project is currently haulted and under invewtstigation by the World
Bank Group for corruption problems.
OPIC has a categorical prohibition against financing large dams
that "disrupt natural ecosystems and the livelihoods of local
inhabitants." OPIC is rumored to have pulled out of the project
due to the bad economics and environmental impacts. To learn more
about the Bujagali Dam campaign go to http://irn.org/programs/bujagali/
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5. Chad-Cameroon
Pipeline Project
This ExxonMobil project receives support from Ex-Im Bank. Recently
OPIC jumped in with financing for drilling services and claims that
these services although drilling oil for the pipeline have nothing
to do with the pipeline project, contrary to their own environmental
mandate to assess secondary and cumulative impacts. Chad-Cameroon
is also supported by the World Bank Group and the French ECA Coface.
This project is exacerbating human rights abuses, destroying tropical
forests, undercutting the rights of indigenous peoples and despoiling
water resources in the region. Furthermore, the oil extracted from
this project is being shipped to Europe and the U.S. to feed already
unsustainable consumption patterns that cause global climate change.
FoE-US is constantly monitoring the standards set by Ex-Im for this
project to ensure full environmental and social compliance.
It receives over $200 million of US taxpayer support through the
Ex-Im. Click here to see a recent letter from Friends of the Earth-US
and Friends of the Earth-Cameroon to the Ex-Im Bank regarding this
project. For additional information about the Chad-Cameroon pipeline,
please go to http://www.bicusa.org/africa.htm.
In addition to the climate change impacts of this project a number
of severe biodiversity and indigenous peoples impacts are also occurring
including tropical forest destruction. Please contact Friends of
the Earth and Greenpeace for more information. For more project
information please see Friends of the Earth's "Broken Promises"
report at http://www.foei.org/ifi/brokenpromisessum.html.
Also please see letters from non-governmental organizations to Ex-Im
regarding project concerns: http://www.bankwatch.org/publications/policy_letters/2000/chadlettexim.html
http://www.foe.org/international/eca/letter.html
If you would like to find out more information about this project
directly from NGOs in the region contact Samuel Nguiffo of FoE-Cameroon
at snguiffo@cedcam.org
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More Information
To Learn More
About These and Other Export Credit Agency Campaign issues, please
try the following link:
www.eca-watch.org
www.exim.gov
www.opic.gov
www.irn.org
www.environmentaldefense.org
www.ciel.org
www.moles.org
www.wri.org
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