When the U'wa refused permission, Occidental focused on areas outside the reservation. Occidental has made extraordinary efforts to address U'wa concerns about oil exploration near their traditional territory, and the company's position has been upheld in various court rulings. Occidental voluntarily relinquished 75 percent of the territory included in its exploration concession, and played a pivotal role in encouraging the Colombian government to expand the U'wa reservation from 268 square miles to 850 square miles, making the U'wa among the largest landowners in Colombia. The expanded reservation is about 70 percent the size of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The situation, however, is much more complicated.
Occidental recognizes the outside pressures faced by the U'wa.
A tragic example of this situation was provided by FARC commandos who murdered three Americans returning from a visit to the U'wa community. However, Occidental will continue to search for opportunities to engage the U'wa community in discussion and dialogue. At the same time, Occidental is committed to fulfilling the terms of its contracts and proceeding with this critical economic development project. Without new oil discoveries, Colombia will soon become a net importer of oil at a time when much needed oil revenue should be used to provide jobs, education and health care for its citizens. The U'wa issue must be put into perspective.