The OECD National Contact Point in the Netherlands concluded that Pluspetrol violated human rights and is responsible for pollution in Indigenous territories in Peru’s Amazon. Perú Equidad, one of FIDH’s member organisations, was one of the groups instrumental in supporting affected communities in demanding remediation.
Lima and The Hague, 3 September 2025. In an official statement released today, the National Contact Point (NCP) of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in the Netherlands concluded that the energy company Pluspetrol violated the human rights of Indigenous communities.
Back in 2020, representatives of the Indigenous federations FEDIQUEP, FECONACOR, OPIKAFPE, and ACODECOSPAT filed the formal complaint with the OECD. Perú Equidad, one of the International Federation for Human Rights’ member organisations, was among the groups (namely SOMO, Oxfam Novib, and Oxfam en Perú) providing Indigenous communities with technical support with the claim, based on the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises on Responsible Business Conduct.
Pluspetrol’s operations between 2000 and 2015 have been responsible for environmental contamination in Lot 1AB (now Lot 192) of the Peruvian Amazon. Oil spills, industrial discharge, and air and soil contamination from toxic cadmium, barium, and lead are just a few of the impacts still affecting the Quechua of the Pastaza River, the Achuar of the Corrientes River, and the Kichwa of the Tigre River.
The NCP urged Pluspetrol to remedy all damage caused by its extractive activities in the Loreto Region’s territory, which had accumulated more than four decades of oil exploitation at the time of the company’s withdrawal. In 2021, Peruvian environmental authorities definitely rejected Pluspetrol’s abandonment plan. Moreover, the company refused to participate in a mediation dialogue throughout the NCP process.
Indigenous federations have also denounced Pluspetrol’s use of a corporate structure designed to evade fiscal and environmental responsibilities, which goes against the OECD’s provisions on taxation and transparency. Although the company has Argentinian capital, its parent company is registered as a “letterbox company” in the Netherlands, with operations connected to tax havens such as the Cayman Islands and Luxembourg among others.
The communities, Perú Equidad, and their civil society partners will continue their advocacy in order to secure real justice in the case and ensure Pluspetrol finally takes its responsibility for long-lasting damage to Indigenous Peoples and nature.
