ECUADOR | Oil production slashed amid spill fears. Ecuador’s energy and mining ministry declared a force majeure in the oil sector on 23 February in response to a landslide in Quijos canton, in the northern province of Napo, which endangered two oil pipelines. State oil company Petroecuador halted oil flows through the state-owned trans-Ecuadorean pipeline system (SOTE) and the Shushufindi-Quito pipeline, which is operated by the private company Oleoductos de Crudos Pesados (OCP). The threatened stretches of pipeline were drained amid fears of an imminent rupture, and Petroecuador installed containment barriers and absorbent materials in preparation for a spill.
Pumping was resumed on 1 March, but during the week-long suspension Petroecuador’s oil production fell by over 50%, from 484,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 239,000 bpd.
ECUADOR | Trade agreement with Costa Rica. Ecuador’s President Guillermo Ecuador and Costa Rica’s President Rodrigo Chaves signed a trade association agreement on 1 March. The new agreement will lift tariffs on exports from both countries and seeks to permit the two sides to create a stable legal framework to continue developing investment and strategic alliances. According to a tweet by Ecuador’s communications secretary for the presidency, tariff benefits will apply to 96% of products. A Costa Rican presidential press release noted that the new agreement will, for the first time, include dispositions related to gender equity, good regulatory practice, and the strengthening of small and medium-sized businesses.
VENEZUELA | Oil production ticks up. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) released its monthly oil market report on 14 February, in which Venezuela claimed to have produced 732,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd) in January, up from 669,000 bpd in December. OPEC’s own estimate, based on secondary sources, put Venezuela’s oil production significantly lower at 686,000 bpd in January, although this was still up on OPEC’s estimate of 666,000 bpd for December.
Andean countries: inflation rate
Percentage variation (year-on-year)
Andean countries: GDP growth (%)
Quarterly figures are year-on-year growth
