A 500-barrel oil spill last month in the Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve, located in the Ecuadorian Amazon, is being described by authorities as the result of a deliberate attack on a well operated by Petroecuador, the state oil company. The Aug. 18 spill occurred following the rupture of a secondary pipeline that routes crude from the Petroecuador well, called Cuyabeno 8, to a production station. Officials say the break was not an accident, and they are conducting an investigation to determine who is responsible for it. Under Ecuador law, government-sanctioned mining and oil-development activity can be conducted in protected areas. The Cuyabeno reserve, created in 1979, covers more than 1.5 million acres (600,000 has) in the provinces of Sucumbíos and Orellana. One of... [Log in to read more]