Troops Occupy Ecuador Oil Facilities
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QUITO, Ecuador — Troops were occupying Ecuadorean oil installations Thursday in an attempt to end a strike by Texaco workers, who are demanding severance pay before the company hands over control of the main pipeline to the state oil company.
At the same time, Petroleos de Ecuador (Petroecuador) declared force majeure on crude oil exports, a Texaco spokeswoman in New York said. Such an action exempts either party to a contract when they can claim circumstances beyond their control.
Texaco and Petroecuador operate Ecuador’s oil facilities under a consortium arrangement. Texaco is to give control of the main pipeline to Petroecuador on Sunday.
Luis Roman, head of Petroecuador, told reporters that troops were taking control of the installations from strikers, who began their action Wednesday. He said there have been no injuries or arrests but that workers of the Ecuadorean subsidiary of Texaco still occupy some installations.
The move to bring in the troops followed the declaration of a state of emergency Wednesday by President Rodrigo Borja Cevallos.
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