MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

FARC blow up Colombia’s main oil pipeline; fears of pollution in nearby river

Although in retreat FARC is targeting Colombia’s booming oil industry

Colombia's largest rebel group has blown up a section of the 220.000-barrel-per-day-capacity Caño Limon-Covenas oil pipeline, Ecopetrol and the army said, in the latest in a series of attacks on oil infrastructure.

Guerrillas in Latin America's fourth-largest oil producer have stepped up bombings this year, especially against the 780-km Caño Limon-Covenas line, which usually pumps around 80.000 bpd - about a third of its capacity.

There were 67 attacks on pipelines in the first half of the year, more than three times the number in the same period last year, according to Defence Ministry data.

The assault by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, known as the FARC, happened on Saturday in the north of Boyaca province and spilled crude oil into a nearby river, the military and the company said.

On Friday, in Orito municipality of the southern Putumayo province, rebels destroyed lines connecting an Ecopetrol oil field to a pipeline in the region.

Latin America's longest running insurgency is at its weakest in decades, but rebels still attack pipelines in remote areas, cutting into production goals and keeping the government from reaching its target of 1 million bpd.

Increased attacks caused Colombia's oil production to fall in May and June. Last month output dropped 0.2% from May to an average of 934,000 bpd.