Fresh attack on Colombia pipeline

Colombia’s Caño Limón-Coveñas pipeline was bombed early Thursday morning by an as-yet unnamed rebel group. Ecopetrol says an emergency operation has begun to halt the flow of oil and prevent it from further contaminating a nearby stream, which is a water source for up to 3,500 people living in the area.

Production at the Occidental Petroleum-operated Caño Limón field has not been affected yet, according to Reuters. The oil pipeline has a 210,000-bopd capacity and is Colombia’s second largest.

While the perpetrators of the attack have not been confirmed, Juan Camilo Restrepo, Colombia’s chief peace negotiator in talks with the National Liberation Army (ELN), identified the rebel group in a tweet. The ELN is now the country’s largest rebel faction, since the recent disbanding of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC. Peace negotiations between the ELN and government have been ongoing in Quito, Peru, but the group has continued to target oil infrastructure in Colombia.

The last major pipeline stoppage was in February, and Occidental began to halt production from the Caño Limón field in early March. The pipeline was brought back on line in early April, but attacks had caused Colombia to lose over 800,000 bopd in production by late March.