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These sweeping restrictions on trade have suc- in the transport of food. It also opted to import
ceeded in hitting the country’s oil exports and gasoline from Iran, despite strong criticism from
revenues, but they have not led Maduro to step the US, which has also imposed sanctions on the
down in favour of an interim government led former country. Five tankers loaded with Ira-
opposition leader Juan Guaido, who alleges that nian gasoline have arrived in Venezuela within
the president used fraudulent means to secure the last month. ™
re-election in late 2019.
The US has traditionally been the principal
market for Venezuelan crude exports. But the
sanctions regime has changed the situation,
and Mexico’s former deputy foreign minister,
Andres Rozental, said last week that Lopez
Obrador’s comments were likely to “raise eye-
brows” in Washington. Reuters quoted him
as saying, though, that it remained to be seen
whether Lopez Obrador’s remarks were just
rhetoric.
PdVSA’s cash-strapped refineries have been
running at less than 10% of their design capacity
in recent months. As a result, the country has
experienced gasoline shortages and disruptions Venezuela has experienced widespread gasoline shortages (Photo: FEE.org)

ECUADOR
Petroecuador accepts US help

with pipeline rehabilitation

PETROECUADOR, the national oil company tributary of the Coca River, it said.
(NOC) of Ecuador, said last week that it had The statement noted that the team of experts
accepted an offer of assistance from the US with had included specialists from the Pipeline and
the rehabilitation of a major crude pipeline. Hazardous Materials Safety Administration
In a statement, Petroecuador said that (PHMSA), the US Geological Survey (USGS)
US-based experts working through the US and the US Department of Transportation
embassy in Quito had already carried out a (DOT). The geologists on the team have an
study of the flooding that had disrupted oil flows extensive base of knowledge on regressive ero-
through the Trans-Ecuadorian Oil Pipeline Sys- sion and are being supported by a technical team
tem (SOTE) earlier this year. The study analysed of environmental remediation specialists that
the effects of regressive erosion stemming from gained experience during an oil spill along the
floods along the banks of the Quijos River, a Kalamazoo River in 2019.

SOTE and OCP were damaged by floods in April (Image: Ecuador Ministry of Hydrocarbons)

P12 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 25 25•June•2020