Protests disrupting Ecuador oil flow end

QUITO, Ecuador – Protests that led the Brazilian state oil company to halt production in the Ecuadorean jungle have ended, Ecuador’s Energy Ministry said late Friday.

Officials did not say whether the company had resumed production.


In a statement, the Ministry said losses from the production freeze totaled more than $40 million, a loss of 840,000 barrels of crude.

Earlier Friday, Ecuador’s state oil company announced it could not guarantee it would fulfill crude oil contracts, three weeks after Petrobras halted production in its eastern jungle concession amid protests by residents in the area demanding infrastructure improvements, including paved roads.

AP