Cano Limon Pipeline Attacked, Halted for Repairs

Colombia's Cano Limon pipeline has been halted for repairs, a source at state-run Ecopetrol said on Wednesday, but production in the Cano Limon and Caricare oil fields is normal.

Ecopetrol operates the 780 km (485 mile) pipeline, which has the capacity to transport 220,000 barrels of crude per day from the northeastern province of Arauca to the Caribbean coast, on behalf of U.S.-based Occidental Petroleum Corp.

"We are taking advantage of a halt because of an attack over the weekend to repair other damage in the tubing," the source told Reuters, referring to a bomb attack by leftist rebels, and adding that the pipeline should be back online within the next few hours.

"Production in the fields has not been affected."

Colombian rebel groups the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and National Liberation Army (ELN) have intensified attacks on oil infrastructure in recent months, bombing pipelines and trucks carrying crude oil.

A military source blamed the ELN for last weekend's attack.

Cano Limon and Caricare oil fields produce an average of 67,000 barrels a day.

Reporting by Luis Jaime Acosta