The tomorrow this Monday, February 27, Most of the gas stations in the southern region (Cañar, Azuay, Morona Santiago, Zamora Chinchipe and part of Loja) woke up without ecopaís gasoline (which is consumed in that territorial area) and only with a little stock from super Today is the third day of irregularities in the supply of fuel in Austria, due to bad weather that prevented their arrival at Chaullabamba terminal in Cuenca. This was explained by Carlos Salazar, the president of the Austro Derivatives Distributors Association.

Although the problem has nothing to do with the suspension of crude oil pumping through the country’s main pipelines (SOTE, OCP and Poliducto Shushufindi Quito) in the El Reventador sector, the current shortage in Austro, as well as the suspension announcements by the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (Conaia) are creating uncertainty in the market .

In view of the delay in the arrival of the gasoline ships, 420,000 gallons are sent to Cuenca

Salazar also expressed his concern as in the morning the envoys from the Governor’s Office started checks to ensure that the product is being sold normally. “We told them how we will sell if we don’t have it and prefer to control Petroecuador, which is the entity that has to supply,” Salazar said.

According to a union representative, the problems began on Friday, February 24, when the stations tried to restock, and some tanker trips had already been interrupted due to a lack of deliveries from the Chaullabamba terminal. On Saturday, the derivatives were not delivered to any station, and on Sunday there was an exceptional supply (because Sundays are normally closed). That fuel is gone. Shortage again this Monday.

He explains that there was a higher demand on Sunday, both because there was a dam, and because people want to stock up on fuel in case it runs out again.

Petroecuador explained in a statement to trading companies that due to factors unrelated to the company, related to bad weather that began on February 15 and continues today, there were fuel delays through Three pipelines Bocas Pascuales and therefore the reduction of the premix at the Cuenca terminal, where ecopain gasoline is produced with ethanol.

In any case, Salazar explained that Petroecuador already resumed supply on Monday, but not 100%. He believes that it will take time for the situation to normalize, especially since even though there is already more product, consumers are still afraid and are asking for more fuel than usual.

Petroecuador began shutting down wells after the pipeline was shut down. The last export came out on Wednesday

For his part, Oswaldo Erazo, president of the Association of Distributors of Petroleum Products of Ecuador, clarified that the only inconvenience in distribution was the one they reported from Azuay and that, according to what they know, there are no more problems in other areas of the country.. He promised that the birth will immediately normalize.

He said they were continuing to “make a leap of faith”, to which the supply company, Petroecuador, indicated that fuel would continue to arrive as normal.

In the meantime, EP Petroecuador has confirmed that it is carrying out fuel shipments as normal from the Cuenca terminal, thus guaranteeing citizens a timely supply in this part of the country.

He said that according to the schedule, on Sunday, February 26, 2023, an exceptional service was provided, 200,000 gallons of Ecopaís were delivered. In addition, to supply this fuel, EP Petroecuador has scheduled an additional shipment of 320 thousand gallons from Ecopaís this Monday, since the daily average shipment is approximately 280 thousand gallons. On the other hand, the company said that different trading companies nationally are responsible for supplying fuel to their distribution chains and allocating quantities to guarantee the supply of these hydrocarbons.