Petroecuador Shuts Down 37,000 BBL/d of Oil Production Due to Pipeline Closure

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Written by Amir Richani for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Petroecuador (Quito, Ecuador) has been forced to halt production in several oil wells following the closure of one of the country's main pipelines.

Petroecuador, the national oil producer, issued a statement on June 19 saying that it has been forced to shut down 37,000 barrels of oil per day (BBL/d) of production, mainly from Block 43, better known as the ITT, and blocks 16 and 67, known as Tivacuno in the province of Orellana.

The shutdown was reported after the private company Oleoductos de Crudos Pesados (OCP) had to stop the pumping through the OCP pipeline, which has a 450,000-BBL/d capacity and is 485 kilometers long, due to bad weather in the Province of Napo that had led to erosion of the Quijos River.

The river's erosion could affect the pipeline, forcing OCP to preventively halt operations and declare a force majeure on the asset on June 17. The company did not offer any dates for restarting operations.

Pipeline shutdowns due to river erosion and bad weather are common in Ecuador, with incidents occurring in previous years that interrupted the transport of oil. The remote location of several oil fields and the extensive pipeline network through various terrains make this infrastructure vulnerable to weather conditions.

Following the announcement, PetroEcuador was forced to fill its storage tanks and then it will proceed to close oil wells that produce its heavy-sour Napo grade.

Petroecuador also said that the SOTE pipeline, the country's longest, continues to operate normally.

According to official numbers, Petroecuador was producing 361,206 BBL/d by June 18, a day after the OCP's shutdown, almost 30,000 BBL/d less than its usual volume.

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