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Petroecuador blames well work for output drop from ex-Oxy wells
By Carla Bass
Platts
Kuala Lumpur
Petroleumworld.com 06 13 06
Crude production from fields seized by the Ecuadorean government from
Occidental Petroleum and now operated by the state oil company has slipped
below normal levels of 100,000 b/d, according to information from Ecuador's
National Hydrocarbons Authority Friday.Production Friday was 98,331 b/d, according to state Petroecuador. But
the dip is due to routine well maintenance, Fausto Mejia, a spokesman for
production affiliate Petroproduccion, said.Petroecuador has not been able to purchase software licenses formerly
used by Oxy which would allow it to continue automating some processes,
officials have said.Occidental's fields were seized May 15 after Ecuador ruled that the
company violated its operating contract by not timely notifying the government
when it sold a 40% stake in its Block 15 production area to Canada's EnCana
Corp. US-based Oxy has asked that an international arbitration court hear the
case, and is seeking more than $1 billion in damages.Ecuadorean officials have said that Petroecuador will run the fields
only until operation of the fields is contracted out to a foreign state
company making the best offer.--Carla Bass, newsdesk@platts.com
For similar news, take a trial to Platts Oilgram News at
http://oilgramnews.platts.com.
Platts 12 06 06
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