Shell bought 1.8 million barrels of Oriente loading this month. SOTE pipeline was shut Thursday after mudslide caused rupture
Lucia Kassai and Stephan Kueffner, Bloomberg News
HOUSTON
EnergiesNet.com 03 19 2025
Ecuadorian state oil company Petroecuador said it might not be able to honor contractual commitments to export crude as it struggles to control a spill from a ruptured pipeline.
The force majeure, declared on Saturday, is expected to reduce exports to Shell Plc, which had purchased at least 1.8 million barrels of heavy sour Oriente crude loading this month, according to internal documents seen by Bloomberg. London-based Shell didn’t immediately return a message seeking comment.
Ecuador has suffered from torrential rains and mudslides that ruptured the 360,000-barrel-a-day SOTE pipeline, the country’s second-largest oil conduit, in the province of Esmeraldas. While the pipeline was shut Thursday, an unknown volume of oil reached a river system and has flowed 65 kilometers (40 miles) to the Pacific Ocean, near oil-exporting terminals.
US imports of Ecuadorian crude slumped to a 22-year low last year amid falling domestic production and competition from Canadian oil delivered by the expanded Trans Mountain pipeline. Most Ecuadorian exports are bound to Asia.
Petroecuador didn’t immediately reply to follow-up questions on details of the force majeure. The Quito-based company may be able to tap into supplies held in the Balao terminal’s storage tanks, which can hold 3.2 million barrels.
bloomberg.com 03 19 2025
