Occidental Petroleum’s Colombian Pipeline

Re “The Bush Oil-Igarchy Protection Package,” Commentary, Feb. 22: Arianna Huffington makes the ludicrous argument that campaign contributions made by Occidental Petroleum during the Clinton era induced the Bush administration to propose funding a plan to protect an Oxy pipeline in Colombia. Last year, terrorist attacks on the pipeline, operated by the Colombian government, cost Colombia a half-billion dollars. The government gets 85 cents of every dollar of revenue.

The disruptions devastated the state of Arauca (population 240,000), which depends on the pipeline for 98% of its budget. Hospital service was curtailed and thousands of workers, including teachers and doctors, went for months without paychecks.

In declaring that the attacks put a “downward drag” on Oxy’s profits, Huffington obviously ignored Oxy’s announcement of record earnings in 2001 for its oil and gas operations, despite the worst year ever in Colombia.

Oxy’s billion-barrel discovery in 1983 transformed Colombia from an oil importer to an exporter, generated billions of dollars for the Colombian government, created thousands of good-paying jobs--and produced an attractive return on investment for Oxy.

Lawrence P. Meriage

Vice President, Communications

& Public Affairs, Occidental Petroleum, Los Angeles