Agip oil output halted in Ecuador after sabotage

QUITO, March 29 (Reuters) – Italy’s Agip Oil crude output in Ecuador remained halted on Saturday, a day after local communities damaged its electricity system to demand more funds for poor villagers, an oil ministry spokesman said.

Agip’s oil installations in the Amazon jungle have been secured by more than 200 soldiers and the company could restart extracting oil on Sunday, the ministry spokesman said.


An Agip spokesman was not immediately available for comment.

The company produces around 28,000 barrels of oil per day from oil block 10. The state keeps all of that oil and pays the firm for its services.

Poor villagers of the oil-rich Amazon region often block roads or bomb oil infrastructure to demand more social services and funds from state and private companies.

Reuters