Ecuador’s NOC Declares Force Majeure After Pipeline Leak

Ecuador’s NOC Declares Force Majeure After Pipeline Leak

Ecuador's state-run oil company, Petroecuador, has declared force majeure at the operations of its SOTE pipeline after a landslide ruptured the pipeline, releasing tens of thousands of barrels of oil. Petroecuador has yet to determine the size of the spill, but has so far removed 225,000 cubic metres of material that collapsed on the pipeline. The company says the force majeure will last up to 60 days in a bid to give it enough time to take all …

Exports of East crude through the Balao Maritime Terminal have been delayed until the force majeure is lifted, according to a statement from Petroecuador. The storage capacity in Balao is 3.2 million barrels. Companies will be notified about the reprogramming of these exports.

Quito, 20 Mar (La Calle).- A trade sent in February by Jhonn Plaza Garay, official of the Transport Management of Petroecuador, to President Daniel Noboa, reveals that the authorities already knew the deterioration of the management in the state company and the imminent risk of a disaster in the oil infrastructure. However, instead of taking corrective measures, a process of "good sight" was initiated against the technician who issued the alert.…

The damage to the pipeline in an area of Esmeraldas province caused a spill of crude oil that the authorities have not yet quantified

Since Wednesday, the transportation of crude oil by the Trans-Ecuadorian Pipeline System (SOTE), which has been suspended for six days after the rupture of a part of the pipeline, was restarted. In NotiMundo Estelar, the Minister of Energy and Mines, Inés Manzano, warned that, according to first investigations, the effects on the SOTE were caused, and could even be described as a “sabotage.” The entry “It’s sabotage; the technical report says it…

On Tuesday, March 18, 2025 Petroecuador declared the situation of “force majeure” in its operations to postpone exports of crude oil, which was affected by the rupture of the Trans-Ecuadorian Pipeline System (SOTE). This has caused it to declare itself in emergency to expedite the repair and cleaning of spilled oil. This incident caused the municipality of Quinindé to run out of water temporarily as the crude has contaminated several rivers of E…