The Afterlife of Wells, from oil to soil in the Amazonia

Abstract

Fifty years ago, the Ecuadorian State celebrated the beginning of a new economic era for the country as the first barrel of oil was extracted from the Amazon. Nevertheless, resource extraction has not resulted in sustainable economic prosperity, nor has it reduced the inequality affecting local and indigenous communities.

Abandoned oil wells are a significant source of air, soil, and groundwater pollution. They continue to leak substances such as arsenic and methane even after they are no longer operational. It is essential to take action and responsibility for the affected people, nature, and territory. Eventually, all oil wells will go dry, and their economic value will be gone. Nevertheless, the territory, the people, and the effects remain. After Fifty years of extraction, the end of the hydrocarbon era has begun.

The thesis investigates the afterlife of abandoned wells in the Ecuadorian Amazon by understanding the territory and the socio-environmental effects oil has brought to the country. It focuses on the Sucumbíos province, which condenses many of the pressures and disputes that the Ecuadorian Amazon is facing today. Through case studies, policy, and urban design as a methodology, the thesis aims to produce a pilot project that creates a range of spatial scenarios and conceptualizes alternative futures. It provides tools for remediation strategies working on a transitional timeline and different degrees of intervention. Together they demonstrate the possibility of the space in the after-oil condition.

The scope of the research does not try to find a solution, but an initial step to think about a territorial approach towards a post oil scenario and the afterlife of the well. Only through a substantial dialogue will it be possible to transform the afterlife of the well into feasible strategies as an objective to advocate for territorial reparation, coexistence, and ecological conservation.