Chevron Restarts Works in Romania; Police Use Force Against Protesters
At the beginning of this week, Chevron began works on the leased perimeter in Silistea, Pungesti, part of Vaslui County. Exploration works will ascertain the plot’s shale gas potential.
According to Razvan Mitroi, spokesman for Chevron Romania: “the company restarted works in Silistea… equipment has arrived that will make the platform on which the first shale gas exploration bore will be located.”
The start of the works were not without barriers. Equipment reached the site with the help of police as locals attempted to prevent equipment from passing through. Around 30 people staying in tents from the Silistea-Pungesti camp claimed that police used force on Monday morning. Two protesters were taken by ambulance to the County Hospital in Vaslui City.
On October 3rd, Chevron obtained the building permit necessary to build in Vaslui County, which would be Romania’s first shale gas exploration bore. Around 500 people protested on October 16th in the area. Tom Holst, Chevron’s country manager for Romania announced that shale gas exploration in Pungesti will be suspended until the safety of the company’s employees, builders and of the community is ensured and until people understand that Chevron’s methods are of top-quality.
Despite the opposition of the locals and police intervention, the first exploration bore should be operational in January 2014. According to Chevron's Externaml Communications Advisor Cam Van Ast, “Chevron can confirm that it has resumed operations activities in Silistea, Pungesti commune, Vaslui County. Chevron will undertake only exploration activities with conventional technologies in block EV-2, under our existing permits and approvals, which we obtained at the start of October 2013.”
He stated further “Our priority is to conduct these activities in a safe and environmentally responsible manner consistent with the permits under which we operate. Chevron is committed to building constructive and positive relationships with the communities where we operate and we will continue our dialogue with the public, local communities and authorities on our projects.”
The situation in Pungesti remains serious with police still present. George Epurescu, a representative from Romania without Them, one of the strongest environmental protection organizations involved in organizing the resistance against Chevron said that police intervention is an abuse made by the state:
“The intervention in Pungesti took place as a result of a direct order that Ponta received from Washington, as a result of the visit from a month and a half ago. The will of the community has no value, although the government brags about the decentralization law… this proves through unconstitutional laws, they are trying to eliminate all the power of the civil society or of the citizen to defend themselves against the state. The creation of an isolated area and the seizing of the activists in the Resistance Camp represent a cynical game, an attempt to humiliate the population, but the environmental activists will still oppose and will still organize the opposition against shale gas exploitation.”
Silviu Molnar