Only eight months have passed since the last extraordinary event in the oil sector that shut down more than 700 wells, and now the scenario is repeating itself. This time due to the collapse of the bridge over the Marker River (Canton of El Chaco, Napo), where the pipelines of the Transecuadorian Oil Pipeline System (SOTE), the Heavy Crude Oil Pipeline (OCP) and the Shushufindi-Quito polyduct cross.
The constant rains in the Reventador area not only caused landslides that loosened the foundations of the bridge, but also the foundations on which the oil pipelines are located.
Petroecuador began shutting down wells after the pipeline was shut down. The last export came out on Wednesday
The Ministry of Energy has declared “force majeure” for hydrocarbon exploration and exploitation operators who can no longer transport crude oil through pipelines, thus preventing Ecuador from being penalized for not complying with export agreements on scheduled dates.
When will the transportation of hydrocarbons be normalized? The authorities indicated that strengthening the foundations of the pipes of these three exposed systems would take ten days. But nothing is certain. Yesterday they continued with the installation of protective material due to the risk of a possible rupture of the SOTE pipeline and the polyduct that bent and remained suspended. Fortunately there was no spillage or contamination.
The Ministry is preparing to declare force majeure and stop the export of crude oil, after the stoppage of the pipeline that will last up to 10 days
SOTE, operated by Petroecuador, transports 319,000 barrels per day, which represents 67.9% of the oil extracted in the country. 151,000 barrels per day pass through OCP, which means 32.1%, and 5,150 barrels per day of gasoline, diesel and gas for domestic use are transported through the polyduct.
Much has been said about the need to reroute the oil pipeline in erosion areas, since the six variants of the SOTE and the eight temporary bypasses and the two final variants of the OCP were not enough to avoid permanent accidents. Today, we count four declarations of force majeure since 2020 amid a fragile resource-starved economy. (OR)
Source: Eluniverso
Mario Twitchell is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his insightful and thought-provoking writing on a wide range of topics including general and opinion. He currently works as a writer at 247 news agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
