PANAMA CITY, PANAMA (Piero Stewart, Energy Analytics Institute, 18.Mar.2025) — Ecuador’s minister of Energy and Mines and president of the National COE Inés Manzano, together with the deputy minister of hydrocarbons Guilhermo Ferreira, and EP Petroecuador general manager Roberto Concha, among other authorities, continued to coordinate efforts to attend and overcome the emergency in Esmeraldas.
This, after an oil spill occurred on 13 Mar. 2025 due to a massive landslide that affected the Trans-Ecuadorian Pipeline System (SOTE) and caused a rupture in the pipeline.
RELATED: EP PetroEcuador Reports SOTE Breakage, Oil Exports Ongoing
Subsequently, the authorities toured the different areas of containment and control established in the sectors of El Vergel, Río Viche and Cube and verified that barriers have been installed to prevent the passage of hydrocarbon in the river. They also verified work to recover oil was ongoing with suction trucks (vacuums) and cleaning with the remediation companies, the ministry announced on 18 Mar. 2025 in an official statement.
To date, Petroecuador’s Esmeraldas refinery has received 90 tankers with recovered crude oil, the ministry said.
“We are doing containment with Petroecuador and OCP is helping us; then comes the remediation and restoration; and compensation,” Manzano said.
____________________
By Piero Stewart reporting from Panama City. © 2025 Energy Analytics Institute (EAI). All Rights Reserved.
