Ecuador to resume crude exports

Flows through two major pipelines are set to restart after suspension towards the end of last year

Ecuador has lifted its force majeure on exports of Napo and Oriente crude. The country suspended exports in mid-December last year after heavy erosion threatened the integrity of both the state-operated Trans-Ecuadorian Pipeline System and the privately owned Heavy Crude Pipeline (OCP), which link producing regions in the Amazon region with the coast. Flows were stopped, except for a portion that continued through an unaffected, secondary section of the OCP, and production was “reduced significantly” due to the lack of onsite storage capacity, according to the Energy Ministry. The lifting of the force majeure will allow exports to resume and contractual obligations to be met, the ministry