Environmental characteristics of Oxy's Gibraltar 1 well site

Jan. 17, 2000
The Gibraltar 1 exploration well site is located in Colombia's eastern mountain range in a highly disturbed area where the primary vegetation has almost completely disappeared due to human intervention (see photo below at right)
Click here to enlarge image

The Gibraltar 1 exploration well site is located in Colombia's eastern mountain range in a highly disturbed area where the primary vegetation has almost completely disappeared due to human intervention (see photo below at right)

Click here to enlarge image

The environment of the Gibraltar 1 site is characterized as secondary forest. Secondary forest results from the regrowth of natural forest after the partial or total disappearance of the primary (original) forest. The secondary forest at the Gibraltar 1 site is different in vegetation composition and character than the original primary forest.

The wider area surrounding the Gibraltar 1 site is classified as gallery forest. Gallery forest is primary forest that has been maintained as wooded belts along the banks of the rivers and streams to prevent erosion. This is demonstrated in the photo at left by the dark green, lush vegetative areas along the banks of the Cubugon River, south of the proposed Gibraltar 1 site.

Cloud forests

Cloud forests are found in zones of high humidity characterized by a water-saturated atmosphere and dwarfed vegetation of smaller trees, shrubs, and ferns. They are found in equatorial zones of South America.

The Tama National Park, located north of the Gibraltar 1 site, does have cloud forests, unlike the proposed exploration well site. Cloud forests are found in mountainous zones where high slopes are in proximity to flat or slightly elevated sectors (i.e., plateaus). Clouds are formed when the water-saturated atmosphere combines with ascending warm air and then are held against the mountains to create a permanent cloud cover.

Cloud forests are characterized by a persistent fog that hovers over the vegetation. The fog and associated dew moisture are important in providing precipitation to maintain the cloud forest vegetative cover in addition to providing moisture to rain forest habitats in lower elevation (sub-Andean, 1,000-2,500 m; Andean 2,500-3,000 m; and alto (high) Andean 3,500-3,900 m)

This is an important distinction with respect to the study site and location of the proposed Gibraltar 1 exploration site. The proposed well is found at an elevation of 600 m above sea level with annual temperatures ranging of 16-25° C. and precipitation of 2,000-4,000 mm/year. The cloud forest found to the north in the Tama National Park is found at elevations starting above 1,500 m and where average temperatures are much cooler than in the area surrounding Gibraltar 1.

Vegetation in cloud forests is also distinctly different from that found in what is considered rain forests. This type of vegetation is first found at an elevation of 1,500-3,000 m. Some examples of the characteristic vegetation types found in this zone are legumes, magnolia-like flower forms, and hippocanthus.

But the typical vegetation at the proposed project location is characteristic of lower secondary forest.