Petroecuador declares emergency at Ecuador's biggest refinery after fire damages

Petroecuador, the state-owned oil company of Ecuador, declared an emergency on Thursday at its largest refinery in South America. This is the second emergency it has declared within a month after damage was caused to fuel tanks by a fire that occurred this week.

Petroecuador reported that it identified damage to two fuel tanks at its Esmeraldas refining facility in the north of Ecuador and an electrical substation, which affected operational capacity.

The company stated that the shutdowns of the key units, as well as the auxiliary steam and electricity systems, were necessary. It added that the period of emergency would allow Petroecuador's repair work to be accelerated.

It said that liquefied petroleum gas will be supplied based on availability, and the necessary scheduling will be determined to meet domestic demand.

Petroecuador said that the fuel prices are controlled by an independent agency and they have not changed.

A fire has forced the refinery to suspend operations since Monday. Petroecuador reported at the time, that all staff had been evacuated safely and there were no injuries.

Petroecuador declared an emergency of 60 days at its refinery in April due to damage caused by a magnitude-6.3 earthquake. (Reporting and writing by Alexandra Valencia, Sarah Morland and Michael Perry; editing by Sandra Maler & Michael Perry).

(source: Reuters)