Petroecuador bets on a definitive variant of the SOTE on the right bank of the Quijos River, to avoid regressive erosion

The manager of Petroecuador, Ítalo Cedeño reported this weekend that the company is committed to carrying out pre-feasibility studies for the construction of the definitive variant of the Trans-Ecuadorian Oil Pipeline System (SOTE) as well as the Shushufindi Quito Poilduct.

“There are vulnerable points in the current layout and we are already working to carry out the pre-feasibility studies for the construction of the definitive variant of the SOTE and Polyduct, lwhich will be located on the other side of the Quijos River (right bank), with which we will be able to definitively distance ourselves from the phenomenon of regressive erosion”, he emphasized.

The statements were made by January 15, 2022, after an inspection of the work and operation of the pipelines that transport crude oil and fuels, carried out in the seventh and fifth variants of the SOTE and the Polyduct, respectively. During the visit to the Piedra Fina sector, Napo province, he was accompanied by the Transportation Manager, Washington Gallegos, and a group of experts, made up of a geologist, geophysicist, geotechnician, and volcanologist.

At the El Salado station, the experts explained, for more than two hours, the technical reasons for starting the construction of the definitive variable of the SOTE, on the right bank of the Quijos River.

The General Manager indicated that the construction of the definitive variant is urgent, to protect and secure pipeline infrastructure and avoid further stoppages that affect the country’s economy.

On this tour, Cedeño highlighted the work carried out by the company’s technicians and the constant support of the Army Corps of Engineers, to complete the construction of the variants within the established deadlines. Therefore, he reiterated that one of the main objectives of his administration will be “to have a safe infrastructure for the transportation of oil, since it is a vital resource for the country’s economy”.

Since SOTE operations were resumed on December 30, 2021, Nearly 4.5 million barrels of Oriente crude were transported, which means a pumping average of 14,300 barrels per hour, being an optimal operation and at its maximum capacity.

Until now, EP Petroecuador has invested $19.5 million, approximately, for the construction of seven variants and two bypasses of the SOTE and five variants and a bypass of the Poliducto.

The regressive erosion of the Coca River, which has extended to its tributaries, the Quijos and Piedra Fina rivers, threatens the strategic complex located in the Reventador volcano sector: the SOTE, the multipurpose pipeline, the Heavy Crude Oil Pipeline (OCP) in private hands ; the Quito Lago Agrio highway (currently destroyed in the El Reventador section) and the catchment works of the Coca Codo Sinclair power plant.