Ecuador Suspends Oil Pipeline Operations

Due to heavy rainfall, the water level of the Loko River in Napo Province of Ecuador surged, and the country’s oil company suspended the operation of two pipelines on July 2 to prevent the risk of crude oil leakage. The preventive shutdown may lead to a reduction of about 500,000 barrels per day in the country’s production, increasing volatility in the global crude oil market. The pipelines in the region had spilled in March as a result of vandalism, causing 3,800 barrels of crude oil to flow into the river and disrupting the drinking water supply for 500,000 people.