A fire in a fuel tank brought production at Ecuador’s biggest oil refinery to a halt on Monday, state oil company Petroecuador announced.
Operations at the plant in Esmeraldas province, which has the capacity to refine 110,000 barrels per day, were suspended “to safeguard the security of the facilities and personnel,” Petroecuador said.
Writing on X, Energy Minister Ines Manzano said a fuel tank caught fire at the refinery on the border with Colombia but he insisted the situation was “under control.”
Petroecuador said there were no injuries in the blaze, the causes of which were still unknown.
Ecuador is one of South America’s top oil producers and is heavily reliant on its petroleum exports for revenue.
Military personnel and refinery workers cordoned off access to the site to ensure security and allow the passage of rescue vehicles, an AFP journalist observed.
Ecuadoran police shared pictures on X of a huge plume of black smoke rising from the refinery and said it was evacuating residents of the area.
In 2024, Ecuador produced around 475,000 barrels of crude oil per day and earned $8.6 billion in oil exports.
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