Repsol SA : Repsol and the UNDP sign an agreement to promote the development of indigenous communities in Colombia

On 1 February, Repsol and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) signed an agreement in Colombia to carry out the Communities Benefit Plan in the Guajira Peninsula in northern Colombia. This agreement is especially relevant because it is the first time that the UNDP has signed a partnership agreement with the oil industry in Colombia: moreover, this is the first pilot project of its kind globally, so the UN has high expectations for its development.

The National Hydrocarbons Agency of Colombia maintains a co-operation agreement with the UNDP to ensure that the companies which sign oil contracts develop Benefits Plans for the Communities that are affected by their activities. Under the agreement just signed, Repsol is committed to developing its Communities Benefit Plan in Colombia in accordance with the principles set by the UN.

The PBC is focused on improving living conditions and contributing to the development of communities living in Repsol's area of influence. Repsol's presence in Colombia is focused in the coastal area of the Guajira Peninsula and affects the municipality of Uribia and the territories of Alta Guajira, including the towns of Nazareth and Puerto Estrella. The Communities in these areas, comprising the Wayuu people, specifically asked to participate in the Repsol Communities Benefit Plan: both the Wayuu people and Repsol see that collaborating together with the UNDP is a unique opportunity to take advantage of its expertise in such programmes. From this February the communities and Repsol will meet to define specific measures focused on seeking to improve access to drinking water for the Wayuu people.

Meanwhile, both the National Hydrocarbon Agency of Colombia and the Ministry of Mines have indicated their intention to play an active role throughout the process to assist Repsol, the UNDP and the communities of the Alta Guajira. Attending the signing of the agreement was the Business Unit Director in Colombia Repsol, Mariano Ferrari, the UNDP's poverty area co-ordinator, Fernando Herrera, Minister of Mines and Energy of Colombia, Amilkar Acosta, the Director of the National Hydrocarbons Agency, Javier Betancourt, the President of ECOPETROL, Javier Gutiérrez, Governor of Guajira, the mayor of Uribia and over sixty representatives of the Wayuu community.

Repsol has been present in Colombia for more than 25 years, when it acquired a holding in Oxycol for the operation of oil megafield Caño Limón in Arauca. Currently Repsol is also taking an active part in the exploration of the Colombian Caribbean, where we operate the offshore blocks RC-11, RC-12 and Gua-off in association with Ecopetrol, and we participate as non-operators in the Tayrona field (operated by Petrobas).

In addition to the agreement that has just been signed, the company carries out other actions on behalf of indigenous communities, including the delivery of school materials to school children as part of the campaign Ruta de la Luz (the Light Route), promoted in collaboration with the Fundación Repsol to improve the eye health of indigenous communities.

All these initiatives are part of Repsol's commitment to Corporate Responsibility in the countries in which it operates and fall within the framework of the Corporate Responsibility Committee of Colombia, chaired by Repsol's Business Unit Director in the country, Mariano Ferrari. In November 2013 this committee approved the Colombia Sustainability Plan 2013 to 2014, which includes 27 sustainability actions in the country in the fields of ethical behaviour, health and safety, the environment and biodiversity, improving the work climate, active participation and community development as well as the continuous process of influence on the company's value chain.