Achuar girl: representatives of local people welcomed Occidental's departure from Peru's Amazonian region
Occidental quits Peru's jungles
US independent Occidental Petroleum said it was to end its operations in the Peruvian Amazon, but denied the move was the result of pressure from indigenous groups or environmentalists.
Oxy sold its active production facilities in Peru's northern jungles to state-run oil company Pluspetrol in 1999. It retained rights to drill on three blocks and had sunk two exploratoration wells in the area.
Occidental spokesman Larry Mirage told the Associated Press the decision was a "mundane" business move that the company had been considering for several months.
He would not speculate on whether Occidental would seek other interests in Peru at a later date.
Mirage said the company had permission from indigenous groups to drill in the area.
However, the group's departure was welcomed by Jorge Fachin, a representative of local Achuar Indians.
"We see this as a respect for life, a respect for nature," he said.
The move has also been welcomed by environmental group Amazon Watch.
However, both Amazon Watch and Fachin said they still expected Occidental to clean up contamination caused by years of operations in the area. Amazon Watch and indigenous group say the pollution has affected the health of people living in the area.
However, Mirage said liability for the clean-up operation passed to PlusPetrol when it bought Occidental's operations in 1999.
PlusPetrol signed an agreement to stop dumping contaminated waste in the jungle by 2008 and to improve environmental standards after local people shut down its operations in the area for two weeks in August.