Construction of the SOTE variant is 95% complete

This Petroecuador release was published using machine translation.

The General Manager of EP Petroecuador, Pablo Flores, made a technical tour of the area where the construction work for the variant of the Trans-Ecuadorian Pipeline System (SOTE) is carried out, to supervise their progress on the spot. Here he highlighted the effort of the technicians, “all the staff have done a great job and therefore we already have 95% progress. Now the work will focus on safeguarding the integrity of the pipeline, so that we have a safe operation. ”

120 technicians from EP Petroecuador and the Army Corps of Engineers participate in the repair and construction work of the new 1.75 km variant of the Trans-Ecuadorian Pipeline (SOTE), who are working hard days and in adverse conditions, since the The climate and topography of the place have been difficult for technicians.

While construction of the variant is nearing completion, quality control testing is still in place. In addition, complementary works must be carried out, which are necessary and indispensable to protect the integrity of the pipeline, in the event of possible eventualities and natural disasters.

For pipeline protection work, pipeline anchors will be installed in sectors with steep slopes and changes in pipeline direction. In addition, concrete support blocks will be placed in the sectors where there is no possibility of installing “H” frames and a pipe support bridge will be built at the Reventador river crossing with a span of 24 meters. Once all these works are completed, the SOTE pumping operation will resume.

On April 7, there was a sinkhole of approximately 70 meters, due to a sinking of land by natural factors in the San Rafael sector, the provincial border between Sucumbíos and Napo, which caused the rupture of the SOTE pipes, Poliducto Shushufindi - Quito and the Heavy Crude Pipeline (OCP).

For the construction of the variant, 160 11-meter-long, 26-inch tubes were used, material that was in stock in the warehouses of the public company. In addition, non-destructive tests were performed using ultrasound and hydrostatic tests to rule out the existence of weld failures.

It should be noted that during these tasks there have been no occupational accidents and no cases of Covid contagion 19, since high standards of personnel safety were implemented to safeguard their safety and integrity.

SOTE has a transport capacity of 360 thousand barrels of crude oil per day, from the Amazon region to the Esmeradas province.