By Alexandra Valencia

QUITO (Reuters). OCP Ecuador (Operator of Ecuador’s private heavy crude oil pipeline) suspended crude pumping on Saturday to prevent it from bursting in the Amazon. Then, cleaning began and repairs were completed.

It occurred late Friday evening in Piedra fina zone in Ecuador’s Amazon. Regressive erosion had caused OCP pipe and state-owned SOTE pipes to stop pumping in December. The government was forced to declare force majeure in relation to its oil exports.

OCP Ecuador S.A. informed that the pumping has been stopped by preventive measures and that it would be resumed once the weather conditions allow,” said the company in a statement.

According to the company, remedial action will include containing any crude oil that has leaked into water bodies. It also stated that repairs had been made to the tube.

Since 2020, the region has been experiencing progressive erosion that threatens pipelines as well as water supplies for Ecuador’s largest hydroelectric power plant.

OCP Ecuador claimed that Friday’s pipeline ruptured in an area that isn’t directly exposed to the rivers and that they had managed the oil flow. However, Indigenous organization CONFENIAE said communities were already being affected.

“The impact of the oil spill has reached the Kichwa community of Panduyaku in the province of Sucumbíos,” CONFENIAE said in a message on Twitter (NYSE:), along with a video showing crude contamination in a river.

Due to erosion, both pipelines burst 2020. This caused an oil leakage in the Coca River and affected many Amazon communities.

Juan Carlos Bermeo Energy Minister said he is keeping an eye on things.

OCP Ecuador said that it has taken measures to ensure neither oil flow nor crude exports are affected.