A serious oil spill in Ecuador led authorities to declare an environmental emergency.
It occurred this week in the province of Esmeraldas, affecting about 500,000 people, as reported. The state-owned oil company Petroecuador, responsible for the situation, announced the postponement of crude oil exports.
Oil spill in Ecuador and state of emergency
On Thursday, a pipeline rupture caused by a landslide occurred, leading to the leakage of tens of thousands of barrels of crude oil that contaminated at least five rivers, including the Esmeraldas River, which flows into the Pacific Ocean.
As a result of the spill, “We are talking about 500,000 people (affected) because we have a water consortium,” which includes several communities sharing the same water treatment plant, stated Mayor Vicko VillacÃs to the channel Teleamazonas.
Statement from the company
The oil company declared a state of emergency on Tuesday for the Trans-Ecuadorian Oil Pipeline System (SOTE).
The company announced the postponement of Oriente crude oil exports due to declaring force majeure in its operations. This measure aims to avoid penalties for potential breaches of contracts with buyers.
The “emergency declaration will not exceed 60 days and aims to allocate all necessary resources to minimize the impact of the force majeure event on exploration, exploitation, transportation, and marketing operations of hydrocarbons,” Petroecuador stated in a press release.
Petroecuador estimated the SOTE operations will resume this week. It added that the companies expecting the crude oil will be “timely notified about the rescheduling” of exports.
The company, having recovered 90 oil recovery tankers, has not confirmed the amount spilled yet, but VillacÃs estimates it to be around 200,000 barrels.
Water damages
Regarding environmental damages, marine biologist Eduardo Rebolledo from the Catholic University in Esmeraldas mentioned on Ecuavisa that due to pollution, “there is no life in the water” of the Caple and Viche rivers.
A mixture of oil “emulsified with water” flows there, he emphasized. “In rural Esmeraldas, access to drinking water is limited, people rely heavily on rivers, people use water from the rivers,” he emphasized.
VillacÃs reported that only in the provincial capital, about 100 km from the spill site, “213,000 people are affected.” Moreover, the oil spread through tributaries to the Esmeraldas River, staining the waters of the Pacific and coastal areas like the Atacames beach.
Dangers of oil spills.
Environmental emergency
The Ecuadorian Ministry of the Environment, Water, and Ecological Transition (MAATE) reported on Sunday that the Mangroves Estuary Esmeraldas Wildlife Refuge is affected by the crude oil spill that occurred last Thursday in the coastal province of Esmeraldas, bordering Colombia.
In response to this emergency, the MAATE has immediately requested Petroecuador (SOTE operator) to urgently implement containment, cleaning, and remediation measures in the affected area to mitigate environmental impacts and restore ecological conditions.
Furthermore, urgent activation of monitoring plans, risk assessments, and strengthening of safety protocols within the SOTE infrastructure in the influence areas of these protected zones has been recommended.
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