QUITO, Feb 11 (Reuters) - Ecuador's state oil company,
Petroecuador, said on Saturday that it was losing an estimated
3,500 barrels of crude oil a day due to "vandalism" at two of
its blocks, referring to recent Indigenous protests at the site.
In a statement, the company said that members of the
Indigenous community had occupied the facilities of blocks 16
and 67 in Orellana province, in the country's Amazonia, and
closed a valve on the pipeline, halting the pumping of crude
oil.
In addition, community members had caused a power cut that
resulted in the shutdown of wells. The company did not specify
on what date the site was occupied or for how many days
production had been impacted so far.
The Indigenous community argues it was not consulted about
the new operation of the blocks by Petroecuador and made other
social demands. It began protesting in late December.
Petroecuador took over production of the blocks at the start
of this year. Canadian New Stratus Energy had previously managed
the blocks.
"In the event that the indicated valve cannot be opened, EP
Petroecuador must proceed in the following six days to the
gradual shutdown of the wells in the South zone ... with an
estimated daily loss of 11,500 barrels of crude oil," the
statement added.
It also noted that the ministry of energy and mining would
lead a committee aiming to find a solution.
Petroecuador's production is around 393,000 barrels of oil
per day, according to official data.
(Reporting by Alexandra Valencia in Quito
Writing by Isabel Woodford
Editing by Matthew Lewis)
