2024-08-20 19:20:28
Erosion of the Coca River is a threat to the OCP pipeline.
The company of the Heavy Crude Oil Pipeline (OCP) Ecuador built a new bypass to get away from the danger zone in the face of the advance of the regressive erosion of the Coca River, in the San Carlos sectorin Chaco, Napo. Construction of the emergency bypass was completed on July 16, 2024.
This would be the third variant of the pipeline route in a month. The construction of this bypass did not require the suspension of oil pumping activities, according to OCP Ecuador.
However, vehicle traffic on the E45 highway, which connects the provinces of Napo and Sucumbíos, was halted for 12 hours. On July 17, 2024, normal traffic was resumed in the area.
A team of more than 400 people from different parts of the country is working on the construction of the variants, with the support of more than 20 companies.
The bypasses are located at Km 99 and Km 102 of the route, parallel to the E45 highway. Each variant is 1.4 kilometers long and more than 100 meters have been moved from their original route.
Erosion in the area
The Regressive erosion of the Coca River It has been recorded since February 2020, with the collapse of the San Rafael waterfall, in Sucumbíos, 19 kilometers from the intake works of the Coca Codo Sinclair Hydroelectric Plant.
The natural phenomenon has advanced more than a kilometer since June 16, 2024. Currently, it is located near the town of San Carlos, in the parish of Gonzalo Díaz de Pineda, in Chaco, Napo, 6.1 kilometers from the intake works. The regressive erosion of the Coca River has threatened the entire oil and road infrastructure in the area.
Source: EL COMERCIO