Ecuadorian Oil Production Slammed by SOTE Pipeline Shutdown

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Written by Amir Richani for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Ecuador's oil production has been impacted by the shutdown of the SOTE, OCP and Shushufindi-Quito pipelines on February 22. According to the nation's energy agency, Ecuador's oil production through most of February averaged about 480,000 barrels of oil per day (BBL/d) before production plunged nearly 100,000 BBL/d on February 24, when a force majeure was declared on oil operations in Ecuador's northern fields.

On February 25 and 26, the nation's oil output experienced an even steeper decline, with production running almost at 250,000 BBL/d, according to the latest available data.

Ecuador has several oil fields in the northeastern part of the country, in the Amazonian region. The oil produced there is transported through two major oil pipelines to the Pacific coast to be exported or refined. Disruptions in those midstream assets led to production declines.

On February 22, Petroecuador said its SOTE and Shushufindi-Quito pipelines, which transport oil and clean products through the country, were shut down following the collapse of a bridge at the Marker River in the Napo Province.

The private midstream company OCP, which operates a 450,000 BBL/d pipeline, said it had also stopped pumping oil through its asset due to the bridge's collapse.

As a result of the pipeline closures, Petroecuador said it had begun the shutdown of its oil wells located in the Amazonian region.

On Monday, five days after the incident, Petroecuador had concluded about 89% of the contingency work required on the pipelines in the wake of the bridge collapse. The company's new chief executive officer, Maria Soledispa, said Petroecuador was working around the clock to reestablish its operations and would finish the work on Tuesday. As of Tuesday, however, Petroecuador had yet to say whether it had completed the work.

After Petroecuador finishes the work, the national energy company will restart the pipelines and consider lifting the force majeure on its Amazonian oil production.

The shutdown of the pipelines due to extreme weather conditions is not uncommon. In previous years, pipeline operations have been disrupted due to erosion and landslides. Petroecuador has said it worked on several sections of the SOTE to avoid disruptions.

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