By Alexandra Valencia
QUITO, March 6 (Reuters) - Ecuador's state oil company
Petroecuador has lifted its force majeure declaration from late
February following a bridge collapse and will soon bring paused
crude exports back online, the firm said in a statement on
Monday.
The collapsed bridge in Napo province, southeast of the
capital Quito, had pipelines running parallel to it. The lines
were intact but were turned off as a precaution after heavy
rainfall struck the area in the country's tropical Amazon
rainforest and officials worried that debris from the bridge
could damage them.
Petroecuador suspended operations on its SOTE pipeline
network on Feb. 23, as did private pipeline operator OCP Ecuador
on its line, in an effort to limit possible environmental
damages after the Rio Marker overflowed its banks.
The following day, the country's energy ministry declared
force majeure, including for Petroecuador's crude exports.
A declaration of force majeure typically offers legal
protection against non-fulfillment of contractual obligations
due to unforeseeable circumstances like natural disasters.
In its statement, Petroecuador said it restarted the
affected SOTE and Shushufindi pipelines last Wednesday, while
OCP Ecuador restarted its operations on Friday.
The state-run company added that it expects to be back at
previous output levels in the "next few days," including for its
crude shipments.
Around 95% of oil output has been re-established to reach
nearly 374,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, and related
drilling activities for this year will also continue as planned,
the company said.
More than 1,600 wells have also been restarted without
incident, Petroecuador said, while another 25 still require
maintenance before they can resume production.
The offline wells are responsible for some 4,200 barrels of
daily output, the company added.
Due to past problems with the same pipelines mostly because
of falling rocks or mudslides, Petroecuador has said it will
build new lines that can better withstand the elements.
(Reporting by Alexandra Valencia; Editing by David Alire Garcia
and Hugh Lawson)
Reuters Messaging:
david.aliregarcia.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))
