OREANDA-NEWS "Oil production is at a critical level, today the figures show a decrease of more than 50% (until June 12, an average of 520 thousand barrels per day was produced). If this situation continues, after 48 hours, oil production in the country will be suspended, since it is impossible to transport the necessary materials and diesel fuel to support work because of acts of vandalism, blocking deposits and blocking roads", the Ministry of Energy and Mining of Ecuador said.

Over the past two weeks, oil production has decreased by more than 1.3 million barrels, the largest losses are recorded by Petroecuador with its 1.1 million barrels, and private companies account for 272.2 thousand barrels. In addition, 1 176 wells have been shut down, 996 of them are owned by Petroecuador and 180 belong to private companies.

In the last two weeks, the protests have been led by the indigenous organization CONAIE. The demonstrators oppose the high cost of living and the conservative government's economic policies. People demand lower fuel prices. The government said it was ready to negotiate but refused to increase fuel subsidies.

Because of the protests, Petroecuador declared force majeure in advance to protect itself in case it was unable to fulfill the contracts. Last week, the company's CEO Italo Cedeno allowed the suspension of oil exports if the protest demonstrations continue to interfere with production.