Quito (AFP) – Ecuador’s state energy company said it stopped pumping oil through the country’s main pipeline Monday due to a rupture in a section running through the Amazon. “The valves have been closed and oil pumping has been suspended,” Petroecuador said in a statement. The company blamed the incident on a landslide, and it was not immediately clear if a spill occurred.
In a statement issued Monday night, the company said it doesn’t immediately foresee shutting down oil wells. The “Trans-Ecuadorian” pipeline has a capacity to pump 360,000 barrels a day. In March, more than 25,000 barrels spilled in the northwestern coastal province of Esmeraldas. Oil is one of Ecuador’s primary exports.
Last year, the country sold $8.6 billion worth of crude oil. In 2024, Ecuador produced an average of 475,000 barrels a day, of which more than 70 percent was exported. Almost half of the exports go to North America.
© 2024 AFP
