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Ecuador's to auction marginal oil fields concessions
Petroleumworld
CARACAS
Petroleumworld.com 08 25 06
Ecuador's government plan to develop 12 marginal oil fields in Ecuador's Amazon region, which will require $800 million in investments, Energy Minister Ivan Rodriguez said Thursday. The fields are currently operated by Ecuador oil company, Petrocuador, which doesn't have the resources to invest in production marginal and expensive fields.To beging Ecuador's government will auction three concessions that will require investments of about $550 million, Rodriguez said.
"Our objective is to call these three concessions by mid-September and sign the contracts by early November," Rodriguez told Dow Jones Newswires in a telephone interview, reported DJ.
Next year Ecuador will call companies interested in developing another nine marginal oil fields in Ecuador's Amazon region, which will require $300 million in investments, Rodriguez said.
Two of the fields are now in production with 6,000 barrels per day of crude oil, but with potential 30,000 b/d in five years, Rodriguez said.
All the fields have proven reserves of 120 million barrels and possible reserves of an extra 53 million barrels, according to energy ministry data.
Also, Ecuador wants to construct a natural gas storage system at a cost of $100 million, and to expand and modernize Ecuador's Esmeraldas refinery, which is estimated to require $150 million in investment, Rodriguez said.
The projects have show some interest from investors, however, Ridriguez said, that investors are concerns about the changes on Laws.
"There is a lot of interest for investing in our country, during the tour ( U.S. road show) we explained that with the changes to the hydrocarbons law, the government was only looking to improve the state's participation in oil revenues. We also demonstrated that the cancellation of Occidental's contract was not a confiscation but a sovereign and legal decision because the company did not fulfill its contract," Rodriguez said.
Petroleumworld 24 08 06
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