Publish to Newswire
Add an EventFrom the Open-Publishing Calendar
From the Open-Publishing Newswire
Indybay Feature
Ecuador: Police end occupation of oil pumping station
Photo: Ecuadorean university student demonstrators face a police barricade during a protest against government policies around Carondelet Palace in Quito February 8, 2006.
Ecuador Crude Pipeline Resumes Pumping
Feb. 8th, 2006
QUITO, Ecuador (AP) - State-run Petroecuador said Wednesday it had resumed operations of one of its two main oil pipelines after police removed about 60 protesters who seized a pumping station to demand the ouster from Ecuador of U.S.-based Occidental Petroleum Corp.
The SOTE oil pipeline went back on line at 12:30 a.m. (530 GMT) about a half hour after police moved the demonstrators peacefully from the pumping station at Baeza, 70 kilometers (43 miles) east of Quito in the jungle province of Sucumbios, Petroecuador said in a statement.
The statement said that within several hours Petroecuador would lift Tuesday's declaration of force majeure - a notice to foreign customers that it could not guarantee delivery of crude oil for reasons beyond its control - and that it would release a new schedule for its exports.
The protesters took over the Baeza station Tuesday morning to demand that a greater percentage of Ecuador's oil revenues remain in the country and that Ecuador cancel its contract with Occidental.
The 506-kilometer (314-mile) pipeline transports around 340,000 barrels of crude daily, including output from Petroecuador and private oil companies. It is one of two of the Andean nation's main oil arteries.
Occidental has been embroiled in a dispute with Ecuador's government since August 2004, when Solicitor General Jose Maria Borja pushed to revoke its contract, contending the company violated the pact by transferring 40 percent of its concession to Canadian company EnCana Corp. in 2000 without authorization from the Energy Ministry.
Occidental denies the allegations.
Last August, Sucumbios was one of two jungle provinces where hundreds of protesters seized facilities, dynamited pipelines and forced a halt in state production while demanding a greater share of oil wealth.
The protests forced President Alfredo Palacio to declare a state of emergency and freeze state exports of crude until a deal was struck to bring a series of benefits to the jungle provinces.
*
Ecuador to close schools in Quito after protests:
http://indybay.org/news/2006/01/1798377.php
Feb. 8th, 2006
QUITO, Ecuador (AP) - State-run Petroecuador said Wednesday it had resumed operations of one of its two main oil pipelines after police removed about 60 protesters who seized a pumping station to demand the ouster from Ecuador of U.S.-based Occidental Petroleum Corp.
The SOTE oil pipeline went back on line at 12:30 a.m. (530 GMT) about a half hour after police moved the demonstrators peacefully from the pumping station at Baeza, 70 kilometers (43 miles) east of Quito in the jungle province of Sucumbios, Petroecuador said in a statement.
The statement said that within several hours Petroecuador would lift Tuesday's declaration of force majeure - a notice to foreign customers that it could not guarantee delivery of crude oil for reasons beyond its control - and that it would release a new schedule for its exports.
The protesters took over the Baeza station Tuesday morning to demand that a greater percentage of Ecuador's oil revenues remain in the country and that Ecuador cancel its contract with Occidental.
The 506-kilometer (314-mile) pipeline transports around 340,000 barrels of crude daily, including output from Petroecuador and private oil companies. It is one of two of the Andean nation's main oil arteries.
Occidental has been embroiled in a dispute with Ecuador's government since August 2004, when Solicitor General Jose Maria Borja pushed to revoke its contract, contending the company violated the pact by transferring 40 percent of its concession to Canadian company EnCana Corp. in 2000 without authorization from the Energy Ministry.
Occidental denies the allegations.
Last August, Sucumbios was one of two jungle provinces where hundreds of protesters seized facilities, dynamited pipelines and forced a halt in state production while demanding a greater share of oil wealth.
The protests forced President Alfredo Palacio to declare a state of emergency and freeze state exports of crude until a deal was struck to bring a series of benefits to the jungle provinces.
*
Ecuador to close schools in Quito after protests:
http://indybay.org/news/2006/01/1798377.php
Add Your Comments
We are 100% volunteer and depend on your participation to sustain our efforts!
Donate
$230.00 donated
in the past month
Get Involved
If you'd like to help with maintaining or developing the website, contact us.
Publish
Publish your stories and upcoming events on Indybay.
Topics
More
Search Indybay's Archives
Advanced Search
►
▼
IMC Network