From 1992 to 2001, the company tried to drill for oil in the territory of the U'wa people, in northeast Colombia. The locals resisted, concerned about environmental degradation and fears that development would bring strangers and be a target for guerrilla warfare. There also were tribal beliefs that oil is the "blood of the earth" and should not be removed. In 2002, after years of shareholder resolutions, legal battles, protests, and a failed test well, the company abandoned the project. Repsol took over the project.