Protests halt pipeline work in Ecuador

Protests in two Amazon provinces have halted a major pipeline operation run by Ecuador’s state-owned Petroecuador, a company executive has said.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the SOTE oil pipeline - one of two of the Andean nation’s main oil arteries – was shut at 10am local time (3pm Irish time).

Since Sunday morning, residents of the Orellana and Sucumbios provinces, in Ecuador’s north-east Amazon, have blocked the main access roads to oil fields in the zone, and have also halted operations at two provincial airports.

The protesters, among other things, are demanding that companies hire more locals, pay higher wages and invest more in local infrastructure.

The official said residents of the jungle city Lago Agrio, 112 miles northeast of Quito, had overrun a control station there. He said the pipeline transports about 325,000 barrels of crude daily.