El Cerrejón
El Cerrejón
El Cerrejón, area of Colombia's La Guajira peninsula, known for its rich coal deposits. Discovered in 1865 by an engineer named John May (probably of British origin), the Cerrejón deposits did not draw much attention until the outbreak of World War II, with its accelerating demand for fossil fuels. In 1941 demand for coal motivated the Colombian government to sponsor a geologic study of the deposits. Yet coal production began only in the late 1970s in response to the energy crisis produced by the rising oil prices of those years. From 1976, coal production has proceeded under the auspices of Carbocol, the state coal company, which expects to reap the benefits of the vast coal reserves concentrated in the North Cerrejón region, with the technical assistance of Intercor, a subsidiary of Exxon.
See alsoEnergy .
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Harvey Kline, "The Coal of 'El Cerrejón': An Historical Analysis of Major Colombian Policy Decisions and MNC Activities," in Inter-American Economic Affairs 35, no. 3 (1981): 69-90.
René De La Pedraja, Energy Politics in Colombia (1989).
Additional Bibliography
Jonish, James. Social and Economic Effects of El Cerrejon Coal Project in Colombia. Geneva: International Labour Organisation, 1987.
Maya, Maureén. Bajo el manto del carbon. Colombia: Casa Editorial Pisando Callos, 2007.
Pamela Murray