Petroecuador force majeure at Eden Yuturi puts 90,000 b/d of oil output at risk

Bogota, Colombia — Ecuador's state-owned Petroecuador has declared force majeure at Campo Eden Yuturi, a highly strategic field located in Block 12 in eastern Orellana province, saying blockades by an indigenous community have negatively impacted operations and the safety of workers.

The field, which last September was producing 30,000 b/d according to official Petroecuador documents, has been paralyzed since May 10 when the Kichwa El Eden indigenous community blocked all access to the site.

While Block 12's output represents 6% of the country's 500,000 b/d, it is crucial in the processing and transport of an additional 60,000 b/d from adjacent Blocks 43 and 31, all part of the so-called ITT group of fields in the environmentally sensitive Yasuni nature reserve.

Petroecuador said in a June 3 statement that the blockade has "impeded the entry and exit of functionaries, the supply of food and supplies necessary for Block 12 operations, as well as the control and operations of other installations."

With help from Ecuador's armed forces, the company has been airlifting personnel and supplies to the site, but the isolation has now reached the point of creating unsafe conditions that jeopardize employees and threaten "strategic installations of the state and the level of national oil production."

Petroecuador said it was initiating a contingency plan to "perform preventive maintenance... (and) to avoid damages and possible impacts to the environment" caused by the blockade. The company added that it is informing affected contractors and customers that force majeure will remain as long as the blockade is in place.

The row involves a dispute over how Petroecuador and the Kichwa community share revenue generated by the oil installation, which is located in Ecuador's Amazon basin. Efforts to renegotiate a previous agreement that expired this year have been unsuccessful .

The Kichwa El Eden community numbers about 400 members and owns 25,000 hectares of ecologically diverse Amazonian rain forest. It is accessible only by air and river transport.

The community has received the support of the Human Rights Alliance of Ecuador, which on May 18 issued a statement demanding that the government respect the Kichwa community's right to peaceful protest and warning it not to authorize an "intervention" by the Ecuadorean army

In a statement after the blockade was put in place, Petroecuador said it has promised to "continue promoting agreements of compensation and social investment in the zone that are within its competencies and the extent of its management."

Petroecuador pointed out that it has sponsored several projects for the community including the Eden Amazon Lodge hotel and restaurant that opened in 2018 to help the community develop eco-tourism. The company also said it has expanded a carpentry workshop to aid local artisans and supported the training of food and transportation providers.

Good relations with indigenous communities in or near the ITT fields are important because the area is thought to be home to billions of barrels of crude oil reserves. Newly inaugurated president Guillermo Lasso likely will need to increase production of the ITT fields if he is to reach his target of doubling Ecuador's crude output by the time his term ends in 2025.