Ecuador, Indigenous group reach deal to end oil field blockade

Ecuador has reached an agreement with an Indigenous community in the country’s Orellana province to end the group’s blockade of oil projects in the area, the ministry of energy and mining said on Saturday.
Protests by the Waorani Kawymeno community that blocked access to the Ishpingo oil field in Orellana impacted output from the site starting on Monday and prompted state-run oil producer Petroecuador to declare a force majeure on the operations on Friday.
The protests in Orellana had cut oil output at Ishpingo by about 17,000 barrels per day.
A force majeure is the legal term for when a company cannot meet its contractual obligations because of acts beyond its control.
After “arduous conversations” with the Waorani Kawymeno, the ministry said a deal was reached that would restart drilling at Ishpingo over the next three days, though wells would start operating Saturday and thereby the force majeure would be lifted.