World
  |
|
Ecuador's Correa says looking at Repsol oil deals
REUTERS
MADRID
Petroleumworld.com 07 13 07
Ecuador will revise the operating contracts of Spanish oil major Repsol YPF (REP.MC: Quote, Profile , Research) and is confident of reaching an agreement, Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa said on Wednesday."We're going to revise the oil contracts and, in fact, we've already revised Repsol's contracts," Correa said. "We've encountered problems, but I think they can be overcome."
Correa, a leftist former economy minister, has vowed to renegotiate foreign oil contracts to boost the indebted state's income from oil.
He also has pledged to suspend deals with oil companies for environmental damage or breach of contract.
Repsol extracts around 65,000 barrels of oil per day in South America's fifth largest oil producer and is one of the country's largest investors.The company was not available for comment.
Correa was speaking at a news conference after a meeting with Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero.
The Ecuadorean energy ministry created a commission to review foreign oil contracts.
It is also looking at contracts held by Brazil's Petrobras (PETR4.SA: Quote, Profile , Research), which extracts around 35,000 barrels of oil per day in Ecuador.Petrobras has denied any wrongdoing and said it has not been contacted by the investigating commission.
Ecuador is also challenging a 2006 arbitration claim filed by Occidental Petroleum (OXY.N: Quote, Profile , Research) for termination of its contract after the government accused the U.S. company of illegally transferring part of an oil block.
Occidental has denied any wrongdoing and demanded return of its assets and $1 billion in damages.
Reuters 11 07 07Copyright© 2007 Reuters. All Rights Reserved.
Your
feedback is important to us!
We invite all our readers to share with us
their views and comments about this article.
Write to editor@petroleumworld.com
Any
question or suggestions, please write to:
editor@petroleumworld.com
Best
Viewed with IE
5.01+
Windows
NT 4.0, '95, '98 and ME +/ 800x600 pixels