<article><p class="lead">Ecuador's president Guillermo Lasso travels to China on 3 February to renegotiate some $5bn in debt, including $2bn in pre-paid crude sales.</p><p>The government is hoping to sever the oil sales from the debt to free up supply for more cash-generating market sales. It also wants to cut interest rates and reschedule looming maturities.</p><p>"We seek to extend the payment deadlines, improve the conditions and make the debt agreements more transparent," Ecuador's finance minister Simon Cueva said today. </p><p>He declined to specify how much of state-owned PetroEcuador's crude exports are tied into the loan obligations. </p><p>The company normally conducts <a href="https://direct.argusmedia.com/newsandanalysis/article/2283731?keywords=petroecuador%20tender">monthly spot sales</a> of medium sour Oriente grade and heavy sour Napo. Typical buyers include Trafigura, Shell Western and China's state-owned Unipec and PetroChina. Norway's Equinor is also an <a href="https://direct.argusmedia.com/newsandanalysis/article/2273563?keywords=petroecuador%20equinor">occasional participant</a>.</p><p>Since 2008, Ecuador has signed more than 15 oil-backed loans with China, a legacy of former president Rafael Correa's 2007-17 administration. Under the terms of the interest-bearing loans, China pays for the crude in advance. Ecuador services the loans with crude exports. </p><p>Cueva said Ecuador's crude production has bounced back from a December crisis caused by an erosion threat to the country's two main export pipelnes. Output is running around 465,000 b/d, not including storage withdrawals and internal transfers, around the same level as last year, according to data from energy regulator ARC.</p><p>Rising oil prices have helped Ecuador's treasury to compensate for the force majeure that ended early this month, Cueva said.</p><p class="bylines">By Alberto Araujo</p></article>
