QUITO, June 17: 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. – TVS
