An unexpected landslide resulted in a large oil spill in Ecuador. The landslide affected the Trans-Ecuadorian Pipeline System. As crews work to clean up the mess and repair the infrastructure, Petroecuador, the state oil company, declared force majeure on the pipeline.

What's happening?

The emergency measure essentially means that Petroecuador will not fulfill contracts. Bloomberg reported that Shell had previously purchased 1.8 million barrels of oil from the company.

Ecuador is a major producer and exporter of oil. The country generates roughly 475,000 barrels a day and exports about 72% of that. The pipeline — known as SOTE for Sistema de Oleoducto Transecuatoriano — is the main way Petroecuador transports the oil 500 kilometers from the Amazon to the Pacific Ocean.

The spill polluted the Esmeraldas River in Esmeraldas province. Vilko Villacís, the mayor of the capital city, Esmeraldas, described the damage as "unprecedented." Residents attempted to build dikes to contain the spill, but they proved ineffective.

Why are oil spills important?

Global reliance on the burning of oil for energy comes with severe environmental consequences. Accidents caused by the drilling and transport of oil are all too common. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the toxic makeup of oil can lead to severe health problems for plant and animal life after a spill.

And this doesn't even take into account the massive amounts of pollution that come from the burning of oil. It affects everything from air quality to ecosystem health. It has also been linked to severe health problems for people around the world.

This is only the latest oil spill to affect water and marine life. Severe storms in the Kerch Strait led to an oil spill in the Black Sea. Russia President Vladimir Putin called it "one of the most serious environmental challenges we have faced in recent years."

What's being done about oil spills?

Singapore is no stranger to oil spills because of the Singapore Strait, one of the busiest sea lanes in the world. The government continues to develop a variety of tools to help detect and clean up oil spills quickly and efficiently. This includes drone technology as well as lasers that could eliminate the need for hazardous chemicals in the cleanup process.

While companies take measures to safeguard their shipments and governments do their best to regulate the industry, the truth is spills are inevitable. The only way to prevent them is to continue to diminish the reliance on oil by transitioning away from the dirty fuel and toward clean energy sources such as solar, wind, and water.

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