OIL SPILL IN THE AMAZON

[Reproduced from GLOBO NATUREZA: http://g1.globo.com/natureza/noticia/2013/06/equador-avalia-impacto-de-derrame-de-petroleo-que-pode-atingir-o-brasil.html]

Ecuador evaluates impact of oil spill that can reach the Brazilan Amazon

More than 11 thousand barrels of oil of the company Petroecuador spilled on Amazon

Aerial image of 1st of June released by Petroecuador shows large spot of oil  on Napo River after a pipeline was ruptured in the 31st May

The American Elmer Americ, the company's Oil Spill Response technician, reported that the most affected so far is the region south of the river Coca, in the province of Orellana, in the east of the country, and that connects with the Napo river, which advances to the Peru and is a tributary of the Amazon river.

The non-renewable natural resources Minister, Pedro Merizalde said that 90% of 11,480 barrels spilled fell  into  Coca river.

On May 31, a landslide triggered by active volcano Reventador provoked the State pipeline rupture Transecuatoriano, leaving the people without drinking water. Oil fell into a cliff, which led up to the Coca River and from there to the Napo, and continues its way to the border with Peru, according to Petroecuador.

The Ecuador, which is the smallest member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec), explored 504 thousand barrels per day in 2012, of which exported 70% to receive about US $ 12.715 billion, according to the Central Bank of the country.

[NB - The risks of oil and gas exploration in the Amazon are emphasized in a video, in Portuguese, which can be accessed on the link  http://www.globoamazonia.com/Amazonia/0,,MUL1230762-16052,00-EXTRACAO+DE+PETROLEO+NA+AMAZONIA+DEMOROU+DECADAS+PARA+SE+TORNAR+VIAVEL.html,

In this video, on 3'20"- three minutes and twenty seconds - projection, one engineer emphasizes the difficulties of access in the Amazon, if a oil spill happens in  the middle of the forest]

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