- Since last Saturday, there have been seven attacks against the pipelines of Caño Limón-Coveñas and Bicentenario in the departments of Arauca, North Santander and Boyaca.
- The country’s oil infrastructure has already registered 25 attacks this year.
- The expansion of COVID-19 has made it more difficult to reach the areas affected by these attacks for repair purposes.
an Jose de Cucuta, May 5th, 2020. Cenit, an Ecopetrol Group subsidiary company, has informed that it activated the contingency plan in the pipelines of Caño Limón-Coveñas and Bicentenario to address the emergencies caused by seven attacks that took place since last Saturday in Arauca, Boyaca and North Santander.
In the last few hours there were three attacks against the Caño Limón – Coveñas system in the villages of Las Acacias, Guamalito and La Ceiba, in the municipality of Arauquita.
In addition, on Saturday afternoon there were disturbances registered in the village of El Consuelo, municipality of Saravena, which are being addressed by specialized personnel.
The attacks also affected the operations of the Bicentenario pipeline, at the height of the site of El Paraiso, village of Palo de Agua, municipality of Fortul, for a total of five registered attacks against the Arauca oil infrastructure.
Other attacks were confirmed at the village of Puerto Nuevo, municipality of Cubará in Boyaca, and in the village of San Carlos, municipality of El Tarra in North Santander.
There was a total of six attacks perpetrated against the Caño Limón-Coveñas system and one against the Bicentenario pipeline.
Hector Manosalva Rojas, CEO of Cenit, stated that “we emphatically reject these attacks against the country’s pipelines, which are creating negative social, economic and environmental impacts, even more so during the crisis the country is facing due to COVID-19, which makes it more difficult to perform repairs with our technical personnel on site. This stage we are living in
Colombia should encourage us to prioritize people’s lives and integrity, as well as care for the environment.»
Cenit sent technical and operations personnel to the attacked locations to perform inspection activities, guaranteeing the necessary control measures were in place to avoid the spread of COVID-19. Moreover, National Army troops commuted to the sites under siege to provide security and guarantee the personnel’s safe arrival.
As soon as the facts were known, the company advised the risk and disaster management municipality councils and the Autonomous Regional Corporation of Orinoquía, and the corresponding contingency plans were activated.
Furthermore, as part of the contingency plan, the Community Action Councils were contacted to advise the community about the facts and to enable technical personnel’s access to address the issues.
Cenit rejects these illegal actions that jeopardize the integrity of the population, cause serious consequences on the environment, and affect the activities of the community and the oil industry. Similarly, it summons the community of the sector to stay in quarantine and avoid visiting the areas where the attacks were perpetrated.
