Ecuador to resume crude exports
Flows through two major pipelines are set to restart after suspension towards the end of last year
Ecuador has lifted its force majeure on exports of Napo and Oriente crude. The country suspended exports in mid-December last year after heavy erosion threatened the integrity of both the state-operated Trans-Ecuadorian Pipeline System and the privately owned Heavy Crude Pipeline (OCP), which link producing regions in the Amazon region with the coast. Flows were stopped, except for a portion that continued through an unaffected, secondary section of the OCP, and production was “reduced significantly” due to the lack of onsite storage capacity, according to the Energy Ministry. The lifting of the force majeure will allow exports to resume and contractual obligations to be met, the ministry
Also in this section
5 March 2026
Gas is a central pillar of Colombia’s energy system, but declining production poses a significant challenge, and LNG will be increasingly needed as a stopgap. A recent major offshore gas discovery offers hope, but policy improvements are also required, Camilo Morales, secretary general of Naturgas, the Colombian gas association, tells Petroleum Economist
4 March 2026
The continent’s inventories were already depleted before conflict erupted in the Middle East, causing prices to spike ahead of the crucial summer refilling season
4 March 2026
The US president has repeatedly promised to lower gasoline prices, but this ambition conflicts with his parallel aim to increase drilling and could be upended by his war against Iran
4 March 2026
With the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed following US-Israel strikes and Iran’s retaliatory escalation, Fujairah has become the region’s critical pressure release valve—and is now under serious threat






