Bomb Attack Shuts Down Colombia's Cano Limon Oil Pipeline

A bomb attack has shut down the key Cano Limon oil pipeline in Colombia operated by state-run Ecopetrol, the company said on Monday, the fourth such attack on the line this year.

Ecopetrol has activated a contingency plan to contain the resulting oil spill, some of which has polluted a tributary of the Rio Arauca, which runs through northeastern Norte de Santander province, a company spokesman said.

The Colombian army was securing the region to enable engineers to repair the 780 km (485 mile) pipeline, which typically carries around 80,000 barrels per day.

Attacks on the Andean country's oil pipeline network by the country's leftist FARC and ELN guerrilla movements are frequent, with more than 130 such incidents in 2014. Repairs are usually carried out within a few days and rarely affect exports.

Reporting by Peter Murphy