Ecuador Repairs Ruptured Pipeline

Ecuador is reopening its main oil pipeline, three days after a landslide ruptured an 80-meter (262-foot) section of the duct, spilling thousands of barrels of oil into the local environment.
The ecological fallout from the 4,000 barrel spill in a mountainous region 25 miles east of Ecuador‘s capital, Quito, is “grave,” as many tributaries for the Coca River, a water source for nearby communities, have been contaminated.
Ecuador declared force majeure on Friday, a legal move allowing it to suspend oil supply obligations in case of unavoidable external events, such as the weeks of heavy rain that triggered the landslide and pipeline rupture.
As if the oil industry hadn’t poisoned Ecuador enough over the years…