Dec 11, 2000 - 07:58 PM

Ecuadorean Oil Pipeline Resumes Operation After Explosion The Associated Press

QUITO, Ecuador (AP) - Ecuador's main oil pipeline resumed operations Monday after an unexplained explosion shut it down Saturday night, the state-run oil company Petroecuador said. The blast occurred in the Colombian border province of Sucumbios and leaked 3,635 barrels of oil. A Petroecuador statement released Monday said the leak caused "minimal environmental damage," in this Amazon jungle region.

Previous company statements reported a "rupture" in the pipeline, although the Monday's statement specified that "an explosion of unknown origin" caused the break.

The pipeline transports between 390,000 and 400,000 barrels of oil a day. Oil is Ecuador's primary export, accounting for $1.3 billion in sales in 1999.

Exports were not affected by the shutdown, according to Petroecuador, which used a special emergency reserve to accommodate the loss.

http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGAPAZ4WMGC.html

-- Carl Jenkins (somewherepress@aol.com), December 11, 2000