Colombian Guerrillas Attack Oil Pipelines, XINHUA Associated Press

September 05, 2000

BOGOTA, September 4 (Xinhua)--Three oil pipelines in Colombia, which export more than 200,000 barrels of oil daily, are out of service due to guerrilla sabotage, said the state-owned oil company Ecopetrol.

The most seriously affected pipeline, the Cano Limon-Covel pipeline, which once pumped 105,000 barrels of oil daily, has operated only 80 hours since July 23 because of 24 dynamite attacks by the National Liberation Army (ELN) and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).

Ecopetrol said it had to stop foreign sales of oil produced in the Cano Limon-Covel field, which is located on the border with Venezuela.

The municipalities in the oil-producing zone have experienced more than 126 million dollars in losses as a direct result of the sabotage, it said.

The ELN, the second largest guerrilla group in Colombia, has been conducting attacks against the 780-kilometer Cano Limon-Covenas pipeline since 1986 in an effort to exert pressure against foreign oil companies and force them to leave the country.

While FARC, the largest and oldest guerrilla army in Colombia, attacks the pipelines sporadically as part of its ongoing military objectives.

Oil is the main product of the Colombian economy. Export income for this year was forecast at nearly 5 billion dollars, a goal that probably will not be met due to guerrilla sabotage.

Copyright 2000 XINHUA

http://denver.petroleumplace.com/egatecom/scream/2000/09/05/xfdws/2366-1064-COLOMBIAN-GUERRILLAS.sked..html

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), September 06, 2000

Answers

Well, I guess that's another 200,000 barrels of oil a day we can subtract from world output.

-- LillyLP (lillyLP@aol.com), September 06, 2000.

WIRE:09/06/2000 21:46:00 ET Colombia pipeline fixed after wave of rebel sabotage

BOGOTA, Sept 6 (Reuters) - Colombia"s second largest crude export pipeline was repaired and began pumping crude again Wednesday after a wave of crippling rebel bomb attacks that began July 23, state-run oil company Ecopetrol said. The pipeline, which transports crude from the 105,000 barrel per day Cano Limon field in northeast Arauca Province, was repaired early in the day but did not resume pumping until late afternoon following a series of tests. The pipeline had operated for a total of less than 80 hours in the last 45 days as a result of the bombings, forcing Ecopetrol and Cano Limon field operator Occidental Petroleum Corp.

http://www.abcnews.go.com/wire/Business/reuters20000906_3338.html

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), September 07, 2000.