QUITO, June 19 (Xinhua) -- Ecuador's state-run oil company Petroecuador said Wednesday that it has activated a contingency plan in the Amazonian provinces of Napo and Orellana due to heavy rain.
It also announced a pause in the operation of the privately owned heavy crude oil pipeline since Monday.
"We filled the crude oil storage tanks located at different locations and subsequently we will begin shutting down wells extracting Napo (heavy) crude oil that will not be transported," the company said in a statement.
Petroecuador's oil output at two blocks in Orellana province has dropped by 37,000 barrels a day since June 17, but it is maintaining operations through a state-owned trans-Ecuadorian oil pipeline system, the company said.
Crude oil deliveries pending for June are set to be rescheduled, it added.
Oil is Ecuador's leading export, with production averaging around 500,000 barrels per day, according to Petroecuador.
Authorities said recent torrential downpours and consequential landslides have left 17 people dead, five others missing and 1,395 people displaced in the country. ■
