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Equitable Origin Certifies First Ever Sites for Responsible Oil Production

Sites owned by Pacific Rubiales Energy earn groundbreaking certification for exemplary social and environmental performance

Equitable Origin Certifies First Ever Sites for Responsible Oil Production

Sites owned by Pacific Rubiales Energy earn groundbreaking certification for exemplary social and environmental performance

Published 09-09-14

Submitted by Equitable Origin

Nearly 250,000 barrels of oil are produced every day at the oil fields certified by Equitable Origin as using best social and environmental practices.

Equitable Origin (EO) today announced the world’s first certification of socially and environmentally responsible oil production sites. EO100™ Standardcertification of the Quifa and Rubiales sites in Colombia signifies the environmental, social, health and ethical practices at those sites meet the industry’s highest standards. The certified sites, owned by Toronto, Canada-based oil and gas production company Pacific Rubiales Energy, collectively produce approximately 250,000 barrels of oil per day, 25 percent of Colombia’s national total. Pacific Rubiales is the first operator to have sites certified to the EO100™ Standard, a fully integrated certification and certificate trading system designed to incentivize and assess the sustainability performance of oil and gas producers. The EO100™ Standard was built through a multi-stakeholder consultation process, and is the only comprehensive voluntary standard of its kind for the oil and gas exploration and production industry.    

Deloitte Colombia, the first organization to have successfully gained approval as an EO100™ Certification Body, completed the independent, third-party audit of the Quifa and Rubiales sites, which are operated by Pacific Rubiales in partnership with Ecopetrol.

The issuance of the first EO Certificates to Pacific Rubiales also marks the launch of the EO Exchange, a certificate-trading platform that enables commercial and consumer users of oil and gas fuels and products to buy EO Certificates to show their support for responsible production.  

“Equitable Origin is delighted to award this first ever EO100™ Standard certification to Pacific Rubiales for having verifiably met the stringent requirements of the EO100™ Standard at their Quifa and Rubiales fields,” said Stephen Newton, Chief Executive Officer at Equitable Origin. The EO100™ Standard incentivizes continual improvement of practices at certified sites, and the Pacific and Rubiales sites will be audited annually by Equitable Origin-approved organizations to monitor progress.

“It is gratifying to have our persistent hard work over the last few years to implement a world-class environmental, social, health and safety system recognized by Equitable Origin. The process to achieve the EO100™ Standard certification was not easy, but it was worth the effort to demonstrate to the communities neighboring our Quifa and Rubiales operations, to the government of Colombia, and to our investors in the global financial centers that profits can go hand-in-hand with responsible operating practices,” said Federico Restrepo Solano, Vice President of Corporate Affairs and Sustainability at Pacific Rubiales Energy. “Most of all, this is a well-earned accolade for our staff. This certification is just the beginning, and we look forward to strengthening our endeavors over the next three years to achieve a still higher rating in EO’s performance scoring system.”

The Quifa and Rubiales sites achieved a 100 percent EO100™ Certification Score with six areas of improvement identified, indicating that the operations employ industry best practices for social and environmental performance and meet the requirements for Equitable Origin certification. In addition to their 100 percent certification score, the sites received an EO Leadership Rating of Bronze—indicating that the operations went beyond best practices in occupational health and safety, workers’ rights, ethical conduct, human rights, and engagement with Indigenous Peoples.

David Poritz, President and Co-Founder of Equitable Origin, explained that the certification of the Pacific Rubiales creates the world’s first certified-responsible source of oil: “Certification ensures that, from this point on, the nearly quarter million barrels of oil that originate from those fields every day will be produced according to the most comprehensive guidelines for social equity and environmental sustainability in the oil and gas industry today.”

About Equitable Origin

E­quitable Origin (www.equitableorigin.com) is an innovative stakeholder-based certification system for the oil and gas industry that promotes higher social and environmental standards, greater transparency, and more accountability in oil and gas exploration and production operation.  Equitable Origin is located in Bogota, Colombia; Quito, Ecuador; and New York City. Consumers can purchase EO issued certificates at http://www.equitableorigin.com/eoe/welcome/.


About Pacific Rubiales Energy

Pacific Rubiales, a Canadian company and producer of natural gas and crude oil, owns 100% of Meta Petroleum Corp., which operates the Rubiales, Piriri and Quifa heavy oil fields in the Llanos Basin, and 100% of Pacific Stratus Energy Colombia Corp., which operates the La Creciente natural gas field in the Northwestern area of Colombia.  Pacific Rubiales has also acquired 100% of Petrominerales Ltd., which owns light and heavy oil assets in Colombia and oil and gas assets in Peru, 100% of PetroMagdalena Energy Corp., which owns light oil assets in Colombia, and 100% of C&C Energia Ltd., which owns light oil assets in the Llanos Basin.  In addition, the Company has a diversified portfolio of assets beyond Colombia, which includes producing and exploration assets in Peru, Guatemala, Brazil, Guyana and Papua New Guinea.

The Company's common shares trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange and La Bolsa de Valores de Colombia and as Brazilian Depositary Receipts on Brazil's Bolsa de Valores Mercadorias e Futuros under the ticker symbols PRE, PREC, and PREB, respectively.

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Equitable Origin

Equitable Origin

Equitable Origin (www.equitableorigin.org) is an innovative stakeholder-based certification system for the energy industry that promotes higher social and environmental standards, greater transparency, and more accountability in energy development projects. Equitable Origin is a nonprofit organization with offices in New York City and Bogota, Colombia.

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