Colombia: Bombings close Colombia’s No. 2 oil pipeline

BOGOTÁ, Colombia (ISH) – Three recent bombings by terrorist groups have forced the country’s second-most important pipeline, the Caño Limón-Coveñas, to cease operation temporarily, Ecopetrol, the state-run oil company, said.

The Caño Limón-Coveñas runs 780 kilometers and produces 80,000 barrels a day, as it goes to the Caribbean Sea port of Coveñas, where the crude oil is exported.

The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the National Liberation Army (ELN), which are the country’s two largest terrorist groups, respectively, have long targeted the oil industry as a way of costing the state money. The FARC, which has been fighting the state for nearly 50 years, is engaged in peace talks with the Colombian government in Havana, Cuba.

The Colombian Army and National Police haven’t said which group is behind the bombings.

It’s unclear how long the Caño Limón-Coveñas will be out of service, considering the bombs damaged parts of the pipeline that are in hard-to-reach rural areas. However, previous bombing damage was fixed in several days.