Ecuador's OCP Pipeline Suspends Operations Due to Soil Erosion

The heavy crude OCP oil pipeline in Ecuador has suspended operations for four days due to concerns of possible damage caused by soil erosion in the area.

QUITO (Reuters) — Ecuador's privately-run heavy crude pipeline (OCP) has suspended operations for four days as a preventative measure against possible environmental damage due to soil erosion in the Amazon region, operator OCP Ecuador said in a statement on Thursday.

The pipeline currently transports some 180,000 barrels per day of crude. The company said exports would not be affected and that crude transport would resume once the company had drained the pipeline and connected it to a 1,800 meter (5900 ft) bypass it had constructed.