Reuters

Ecuador hopes to hit oil production of above 500,000 barrels per day (bpd) by the end of the year,
following a massive drilling campaign by multiple energy companies, Energy Minister Juan Carlos Bermeo said on Thursday.

By Alexandra Valencia / Reuters

BOGOTA
Petroleumworld 11 18 2021

Ecuador hopes to hit oil production of above 500,000 barrels per day (bpd) by the end of the year, following a massive drilling campaign by multiple energy companies, Energy Minister Juan Carlos Bermeo said on Thursday.

The country’s President Guillermo Lasso, who took office in May, wants to raise average daily production to 1 million bpd by the end of his term in 2025, though state-run energy company Petroecuador has seen recent dips in production.

Oil production in Ecuador sits near 485,000 bpd currently, the vast majority of which is produced by Petroecuador. The state-owned company and other private-sector producers are conducting drilling campaigns as they try to raise output.

“We are trying to add the largest amount of production to close this year with a (rate) of over 500,000 barrels of oil (per day),” Bermeo told reporters.

Ecuador is looking to generate increased investment to bring in $30 billion over the next four years, especially in the oil, mining and electricity sectors.

In the oil sector, the government is seeking to award the Sacha field – one of Ecuador’s biggest and which has a daily production capacity of 65,400 bpd – to interested companies, and also hopes to drum up interest via a new bidding round for fields in the southeast of the country.

The government will not block the sale of assets held by Spanish energy giant Repsol to Canadian company New Stratus Energy Inc, Bermeo said.

“In order for them to continue with negotiations and sale processes, they need authorization from us (…) we have given that authorization,” he added.

Repsol operates blocks 16 and 67, which have a combined output of 13,000 bpd and where the contracts for both will run out in December 2022. 

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Reporting by Oliver Griffin; editing by Jonathan Oatisfrom Reuters.

reuters.com 11 18 2021

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