Ecuador Oil Pipeline Restarts 4 Days After Fire
ECUADOR · ENERGY
Key Facts
- —The country Ecuador is an Andean oil exporter that has used the US dollar as its official currency since 2000.
- —What happened State oil company Petroecuador restarted the SOTE, Ecuador’s main oil pipeline, on Monday 5 October, four days after a fire at a pumping station.
- —The numbers Five pumping units are back, giving capacity of up to 220,000 barrels a day, against an average of 303,265 from January to August.
- —Next step Petroecuador expects one more pumping unit by Wednesday 7 October, which would lift capacity above 270,000 barrels a day.
- —The US angle The United States imported an average of 98,000 barrels a day of Ecuadorian crude in 2025, according to the US Energy Information Administration.
- —Still open Petroecuador has not named the cause of the 1 October fire and says technical analyses to find the root cause are under way.
The Ecuador oil pipeline that carries most of the country’s crude restarted on Monday 5 October, four days after a fire shut it down. State oil company Petroecuador announced the restart in an official statement on Tuesday 6 October.
The restart matters beyond Ecuador, which uses the US dollar, because crude sold abroad brings in the dollars its economy runs on. The United States imported about 98,000 barrels a day of Ecuadorian crude in 2025, according to US government data.
What Petroecuador Announced
The SOTE, short for Trans-Ecuadorian Pipeline System, is the country’s main oil pipeline and is run by Petroecuador. The company said it carried out its contingency plan, recovered five pumping units and reactivated flow along the whole line.
That restores transport capacity of up to 220,000 barrels a day, the company said. It added that the restart secures crude deliveries to the country’s three refineries and to oil exports.
Petroecuador plans to add one more pumping unit by Wednesday 7 October. The company said that would allow the line to carry more than 270,000 barrels a day.
During the shutdown, part of Petroecuador’s output travelled through the OCP, or Heavy Crude Pipeline, which carries the rest of Ecuador’s crude. The company said this kept the whole oil supply chain running.
What the Fire at Baeza Did
The fire broke out on Thursday 1 October at Pumping Station No. 4 in Baeza, a town in Napo province on the Andes’ eastern slopes. On Saturday 3 October, Petroecuador declared force majeure over the Baeza fire, a notice that excuses missed contract duties in an emergency.
In its 3 October statement, the company promised to resume pumping within six days. The Monday restart came well inside that window.
The Guayaquil newspaper Expreso reported that no one was hurt in the fire. It added that technical reports reviewed by Petroecuador had warned the halt could last until 17 October.
From January to August, the pipeline averaged 303,265 barrels a day, about 70% of Ecuador’s oil production, the news site Primicias reported. The restored capacity of 220,000 barrels equals about 73% of that average.
With the line shut, Petroecuador closed wells step by step to manage storage in its tanks, both outlets reported. Company figures they cited show its output fell below 320,000 barrels a day on Sunday 4 October, from about 365,000 before the fire.
Why It Matters to the United States
US imports of Ecuadorian crude averaged 98,000 barrels a day in 2025, down from 169,000 in 2020. Those figures come from the US Energy Information Administration, the US government’s energy statistics office.
Ecuador has had no currency of its own since it adopted the US dollar in 2000, so export earnings keep dollars circulating. A long halt on the Ecuador oil pipeline would have squeezed that flow of dollars.
Petroecuador said the Ecuador oil pipeline restart secures oil exports again. It has not said how many tanker cargoes were delayed during the halt.
Crude loadings set for 4 to 6 October at the Balao export terminal could not go ahead, a company report cited by Primicias warned. The report, attached to the force majeure resolution, sought cover for six crude-sale contracts.
A Crackdown on Fuel Theft Runs in Parallel
The restart comes as the government of President Daniel Noboa, a businessman elected in October 2023, steps up security at oil installations. On Monday 5 October, Petroecuador’s general manager, Sebastián Maag, toured the La Libertad refinery with Interior Minister John Reimberg.
Estimated fuel losses on the country’s product pipelines fell to 38,000 barrels in September 2026, Petroecuador said. That compares with 127,810 barrels a year earlier, a drop of about 70%.
The company credited police, the armed forces, prosecutors and intelligence agencies for 367 arrests for hydrocarbon crimes and 988 illegal taps found.
After the Baeza fire, Petroecuador called in a national unit that investigates hydrocarbon crimes and the Intervention and Rescue Group, known as the GIR. The company has not named a cause.
What It Means for You
For investors and fuel traders, the restart eases the risk of a long outage on the Ecuador oil pipeline this month. Capacity is still below the pre-fire average, so export volumes may stay lower until the line is back at full strength.
For residents and visitors in Ecuador, Petroecuador says the restart guarantees crude for the country’s three refineries, which make fuel for the domestic market. The company has not reported any fuel shortages linked to the pipeline halt.
What Is Not Known
Petroecuador has not said what caused the fire, only that technical analyses are under way to find the root cause. It also has not said when the Ecuador oil pipeline will return to its pre-fire average of about 303,000 barrels a day.
The company has not published the cost of repairs or the value of lost production. Nor has it said whether the force majeure declaration of 3 October has been lifted.
Whether the extra pumping unit arrives by Wednesday 7 October, as planned, is also open.
More: Ecuador news in English, every day from The Rio Times.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the SOTE in Ecuador?
The SOTE, or Trans-Ecuadorian Pipeline System, is the main state-run Ecuador oil pipeline. From January to August 2026 it carried an average of 303,265 barrels a day, about 70% of the country’s oil production.
Is the Ecuador oil pipeline working again?
Yes. Petroecuador restarted the Ecuador oil pipeline on Monday 5 October at up to 220,000 barrels a day. It expects to pass 270,000 barrels a day once an extra pumping unit joins by Wednesday 7 October.
Why does an Ecuadorian pipeline matter to Americans?
The United States imported about 98,000 barrels a day of Ecuadorian crude in 2025, according to the US Energy Information Administration. Ecuador also uses the US dollar, so its oil exports help bring in the dollars its economy needs.
What caused the fire at the Baeza pumping station?
Petroecuador has not said. It is running technical analyses to determine the root cause, and specialist investigators, including a unit for hydrocarbon crimes, went to the site.
Sources: EP Petroecuador, official statement on the SOTE restart, 6 October 2026; EP Petroecuador, force majeure statement, 3 October 2026; EP Petroecuador, fuel theft figures, 5 October 2026; US Energy Information Administration, crude oil imports by country, release of 30 September 2026; Banco Central del Ecuador, history and dollarisation, accessed 6 October 2026; Presidency of Ecuador, President Daniel Noboa, accessed 6 October 2026; Expreso, 6 October 2026; Expreso, 5 October 2026; Primicias, 5 October 2026.
Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief · Editorial standards · Report an error