Ecuador Declares Force Majeure After Oil Pipeline Shutdown
QUITO (Reuters) — Ecuador has declared force majeure on oil exploration and production activities after its main crude pipeline halted operations due to soil erosion in the Amazon region, the Andean nation's energy ministry said on Thursday.
Crude exports will not be affected by the force majeure declaration given the level of inventories at the Balao terminal, the ministry said in a statement.
State-run oil company Petroecuador on Wednesday shut the SOTE pipeline, with a capacity to transport some 360,000 barrels of crude per day, as a preventative measure.
An April landslide in the Amazon prompted the SOTE and another major pipeline to burst, forcing Ecuador to halt oil exports.
In the statement, Energy Minister Rene Ortiz said he expected Petroecuador would complete construction of a SOTE pipeline variant within five days, allowing pumping to resume.
Related News
Related News

- Enbridge Plans 86-Mile Pipeline Expansion, Bringing 850 Workers to Northern B.C.
- Intensity, Rainbow Energy to Build 344-Mile Gas Pipeline Across North Dakota
- U.S. Moves to Block Enterprise Products’ Exports to China Over Security Risk
- 208-Mile Mississippi-to-Alabama Gas Pipeline Moves Into FERC Review
- Court Ruling Allows MVP’s $500 Million Southgate Pipeline Extension to Proceed
- U.S. Pipeline Expansion to Add 99 Bcf/d, Mostly for LNG Export, Report Finds
- A Systematic Approach To Ensuring Pipeline Integrity
- 275-Mile Texas-to-Oklahoma Gas Pipeline Enters Open Season
- LNG Canada Start-Up Fails to Lift Gas Prices Amid Supply Glut
- Kinder Morgan Gas Volumes Climb as Power, LNG Demand Boost Pipeline Business
Comments