UPDATE 4-Petroecuador declares force majeure on tsunami alert

* Petroecuador declares force majeure

* Ecuador sees oil exports normal by Saturday

* OCP pipeline suspends maritime operations
(Adds quote, background, details)

By Santiago Silva and Alexandra Valencia

QUITO, March 11 (Reuters) - Ecuador state oil company
Petroecuador on Friday declared a precautionary force majeure
on its oil exports due to a tsunami threat after an earthquake
in Japan, but it said exports would be normal by Saturday.

OPEC member Ecuador, which exports from a Pacific port and
whose main 110,000-barrel-per-day refinery is at Esmeraldas on
the coast, was on alert after a huge earthquake off the coast
of Japan brought tsunami warnings across the Pacific.

"I just signed a notice of force majeure due to the
earthquake in Japan and the imminent threat of a tsunami on
Ecuador's coasts," Petroecuador President Marco Calvopina told
reporters in Ecuador's capital, Quito.

The company had no planned shipments on Friday, so the move
was an alert to customers of possible problems. Petroecuador
produces about 145,000 barrels per day, out of total national
output of around 475,000 bpd.

Calvopina expected oil exports to be normal by Saturday.

The state firm also had in place plans to suspend
operations of Ecuador's 45,000 bpd La Libertad refinery, if the
tsunami happens, while the Esmeraldas refinery, the Andean
nation's largest, would not be affected.

President Rafael Correa declared an emergency in the
country to take measures against the tsunami threat, including
the mandatory evacuation of people and the suspension of all
activities in the coastal provinces that could be affected,
including the Galapagos Islands.

Regionally, Chilean President Sebastian Pinera, whose
country was hit by a 8.8 magnitude quake a year ago, told
Chileans to remain alert, while Peruvian officials said they
were waiting until late afternoon to decide if they would order
evacuations from low-lying coastal areas.

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TAKE A LOOK ON Japan earthquake, tsunami [ID:nL3E7EB0V5]

Graphics on earthquake:

link.reuters.com/vec58r

link.reuters.com/red58r

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Ecuador's private OCP heavy crude oil pipeline -- which has
a capacity of 450,000 bpd but transports only around 120,000
bpd -- said it had suspended maritime operations and canceled a
ship loading at its terminal in Esmeraldas province.

"OCP suspended all maritime operations, as a result, one
ship loading was canceled ... we'll respect the request of
authorities to abandon the sea before in Esmeraldas," the firm
said in a statement.

That shipment was 360,000 barrels.

The 485-km (300-mile) heavy crude pipeline is 99 percent
underground, and the maritime terminal has a storage capacity
of five tanks of 750,000 barrels each, according to the firm.
(Writing by Jack Kimball; Editing by Walter Bagley)