BOGOTA--Leftist guerrilla were being blamed Wednesday for
attacks on energy pylons in northeastern Colombia that cut
electricity at U.S.-based Occidental Petroleum Corp.'s (OXY) Cano
Limon oil field and state-run Ecopetrol's (EC, ECP.T, ECOPETROL.BO)
nearby pumping station.
Government-controlled electricity-grid operator ISA (IESFY,
ISA.BO) said the power outage occurred Tuesday night. ISA said
repair workers restored some electricity overnight, but it said 100
megawatts of power destined for several municipalities in the state
of Arauca, as well as the Oxy oil complex and the Ecopetrol pumping
station, remain offline.
Discovered by Occidental in 1983, the Cano Limon field is one of
Colombia's oldest and has so far produced more than one billion
barrels of oil. Now in its mature stage, the field produced 27,000
barrels of crude oil a day during the first six months of this
year, down from 31,000 barrels a day in the first half of 2011. A
few months ago, Oxy said its lower output was due partly to an
increase in rebel attacks on the Ecopetrol-owned Cano Limon oil
pipeline that it uses to transport its crude to shipping ports for
export.
Mines and Energy Minister Mauricio Cardenas on Wednesday called
the latest attacks on the energy pylons "terrorist acts." Speaking
to state-run radio, Cardenas said poor civilians living in the
surrounding communities suffer most from such attacks on
electricity infrastructure.
Occidental representatives in California weren't immediately
available for comment Wednesday.
It wasn't clear what rebel group might have been responsible for
the attacks. The main Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or
FARC, and the No. 2 National Liberation Army, or ELN, both have a
strong presence in the Arauca region, which borders Venezuela.
Both rebel groups have long labeled foreign oil companies as
military targets.
Write to Dan Molinski at dan.molinski@dowjones.com
