Ecuador logs 117 oil leaks since beginning of the year

Sep 5, 2006, 5:12 GMT

Quito - Ecuador's oil industry has recorded 117 incidents since the beginning of the year in which large quantities of oil have leaked into the environment, the state-run oil company, Petroecuador, said.

The oil leaking from the country's pipelines had a value of about 28 million dollars, the company said Monday. Its environmental cost, however, was likely to be much higher.

The cause of the spills have been damage to pipelines that carry oil pumped from the Amazon jungles over the Andes to the Pacific coast for shipment. The damage has been caused by sabotage, earthquakes and mistakes in operating procedures, Petroecuador said.

The company released the figures after about 600 barrels of oil leaked from a pipeline into a nature reserve two weeks ago in eastern Ecuador. About half of the oil has been cleaned up.

The company and police have blamed the leak on an attack on the pipeline, but no suspects have been named.

In the meantime, environmental groups have accused the oil companies operating in Ecuador of negligence and a dearth of security at their facilities.