Blast shuts down Colombia’s No. 2 oil pipeline
31 July 2013 11:41 PM GMT
An explosion shut down Colombia’s Cano Limon-Covenas oil pipeline with military sources blaming leftist rebels for the attack. The blast on Colombia’s second biggest pipeline, used by US oil producer Occidental Petroleum Corp and owned by Ecopetrol, had no immediate impact on crude output or exports, sources said.
The 780-km pipeline was attacked on a stretch near Saravena in Arauca province close to the border with Venezuela. It was the third attack on the pipeline this month. The explosion, which took place on Sunday, was likely carried out by a rebel group, informed military sources.
The sources did not attribute the attack specifically to FARC, as the nation’s biggest insurgent movement is known, or its smaller counterpart the ELN.
No details on how much crude was spilt by the explosion or the environmental damage were immediately available. The pipeline carries crude from Cano Limon fields to the port of Covenas on the Caribbean coast for export. The rebel groups have attacked oil infrastructure in Latin America’s fourth biggest crude producer with increasing frequency in the past year or so, even as peace talks between the government and FARC is in progress in Cuba.
The 780-km pipeline was attacked on a stretch near Saravena in Arauca province close to the border with Venezuela. It was the third attack on the pipeline this month. The explosion, which took place on Sunday, was likely carried out by a rebel group, informed military sources.
The sources did not attribute the attack specifically to FARC, as the nation’s biggest insurgent movement is known, or its smaller counterpart the ELN.
No details on how much crude was spilt by the explosion or the environmental damage were immediately available. The pipeline carries crude from Cano Limon fields to the port of Covenas on the Caribbean coast for export. The rebel groups have attacked oil infrastructure in Latin America’s fourth biggest crude producer with increasing frequency in the past year or so, even as peace talks between the government and FARC is in progress in Cuba.
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