(Reuters) – Ecuador will likely suspend oil production completely within 48 hours if road blocks and vandalising of oil wells continue, Bloomberg News https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-06-26/ecuador-to-stop-pumping-oil-in-48-hours-energy-ministry-warns reported on Sunday, citing an emailed statement from the Energy Ministry.
The former OPEC country would have to halt oil operations “due to the acts of vandalism, takeover of wells and closing of roads,” the report said quoting the ministry.
Ecuador has been embroiled in mass anti-government protests since June 13 with calls for lower prices for fuel, food and other basics and has led to its oil production falling by more than half.
President Guillermo Lasso said on Sunday he would cut prices for gasoline and diesel by 10 cents a gallon, a day after the government and indigenous leaders held their first formal talks since the protests began.
(Reporting by Deep Vakil in Bengaluru; Editing by Edmund Blair)
