Ecuador energy infrastructure safe

QUITO, Ecuador, April 18 (UPI) -- Despite the devastation from a magnitude-7.8 earthquake, Ecuador's government said that most of its energy infrastructure was spared major damage.

More than 270 people are dead after the quake struck Saturday evening. Returning from a visit to Italy after declaring a state of emergency, President Rafael Correa said the quake, one of the largest for Ecuador in decades, was a "very painful test."

Ecuador is a member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, thought it accounts for just under 1 percent of the group's total share of oil production. The country's resource ministry said two of its refineries were operating normally following the quake. It's largest, the 110,000-barrel-per-day Esmeraldas refinery, is safe and the government said it expects to start operations once inspectors complete physical inspections.

In terms of electricity, the government said hydroelectric plants were spared and the national electricity transmission system, which suffered minor damage, was operating at full capacity. Areas near the epicenter, about 17 miles south of Muisne, Ecuador, were operating at about 90 percent capacity.

The country's network of oil and gas pipelines in most provinces are operational, the government said. The supply of gasoline, diesel and other products "is guaranteed at national level." The state-run Petroecuador was in full service at the retail level and the government said private stations were getting back to normal "even in the most affected provinces."

"Drinking water plants across the country are functioning normally, except in the province of Manabi (the hardest hit area)," the government said.

The president authorized the mobilization of tens of thousands of police and military personnel across the coastal provinces impacted by the weekend quake. Donations and offers of support have emerged from across the globe.

"We are already channeling emergency assistance through the EU civil protection mechanism, to provide lifesaving support to those in need," Christos Stylianides, the Euroepean commissioner for humanitarian aid and crisis management, said in a statement Monday.