Ecuador declared force majeure on all oil contracts, including exports and imports, as the threat of soil erosion forced the shutdown of the country’s two pipelines that transport crude across the Andes.
A statement by state-owned oil producer Petroecuador says the clause, which is invoked to remove liability from failing to honour contracts in the event of disasters, went into effect on Sunday.
It added that the country’s Trans-Ecuadorian Pipeline System and Heavy Crude Pipeline, as well as the Shushufindi-Quito petroleum products pipeline, had to be shut.
Ecuador’s third force majeure on oil contracts aims to overcome years of stagnant production in the former OPEC member and more than double output to near 1 million barrels a day.