The Uruguayan government has authorized companies to conduct seismic analysis in Uruguayan waters in search of oil. Environmental organizations are questioning the decision. With the details, our colleague Mateo Grille. teleSUR
00:00The Uruguayan government has authorized companies to conduct seismic analysis in
00:04Uruguayan waters in search of oil. Environmental organizations are
00:07questioning the decision with details. Our colleague Mateo Grille.
00:15The Uruguayan Ministry of Environment has granted an environmental
00:20authorization and given the go-ahead for full international companies to carry
00:24out seismic prospecting projects in Uruguay's exclusive economic zone. The
00:28companies are Searcher Geodata, CGE Service, AP Exploration and PES. The
00:34prospecting intended to obtain geological data that will allow for the
00:38evaluation of future drilling in storage oil and may be conducted until April at
00:43a distance of between 150 and 300 km from the coast and the depths of 50 and 5,000
00:51meters. Nature is not simply a resource but a community of living beings including
00:58humans. Seismic surveys in Uruguayan waters linked to hydrocarbon exploration
01:04significantly affect this vital network. It has been proven that the acoustic waves
01:09generated by seismic studies alter behavior, feeding and well-being patterns. The
01:18government decision was rejected by dozens of social organizations that protested
01:22several times at public hearings prior to authorization.
01:28Everything that is happening is in violation of national and international environmental protection
01:33regulations and also the procedure in which it is happening because the real impacts that
01:38will be had are being hidden. This fragmentation of projects is like fragmenting the habitat to make it seem like we are studying it or analyzing it.
01:48These fragmented projects are fragmenting the impacts and not allowing us to see the totality of what is being discussed, which is of unprecedented seriousness, to think of Uruguay, as an extractive country.
02:03A few days ago, hundreds of people gathered in front of the presidential building to protest government decision and demand an oil-free sea. In addition, more than 20,000 signature rejection
02:14the authorization were delivered and the protesters asked to be received by authorities. There is no anonymity within the government either. Government legislators are calling for the authorization to be revoked because the environmental risk of
02:28the environmental risk of the oil-free sea. The problem with offshore oil extraction is the ecological risks, and these risks are of low probability, but when an accident occurs, the catastrophe is one of magnitude. Let's look at what happened in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010, not so long ago. In the 21st century, with state-of-the-art technology, 80,000 barrels of oil
02:56spilled into the Gulf of Mexico. To this day, there are environmental consequences, the decline of whales, dolphins, and everything that has been studied, even crabs. But not only that, there is also an impact on the coast.
03:15The Ministry of Environment has stated that the sessional precaution has been taken to minimize risk and technical experts have approved the authorization. In any case, social organizations continue to react to the decision.
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