Ecuador to offer concession for legacy oil field

Ecuador is hoping to raise more than $1bn from a planned concession for one of the country's legacy oil fields, the finance ministry says.

The 67,000 b/d Sacha oil field is currently operated by state-owned PetroEcuador, which absorbed its upstream counterpart PetroAmazonas at the start of the year.

Sacha is located on block 60 in the northeastern province of Orellana. Reserves are estimated at around 350mn bl.

The planned concession is among the outgoing administration's austerity measures designed to get Ecuador's finances in order, as agreed with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Ecuador, which left Opec in early 2020, is currently producing around 505,000 b/d of crude, of which 80pc is produced by PetroEcuador. The balance comes from private-sector firms, including Andes Petroleum and PetroOriental, two joint ventures between Chinese state-owned firms CNPC and Sinopec that together account for about 7pc of Ecuador's output.

Other producers include Chile's state-owned Enap and Spain's Repsol.

PetroEcuador regularly tenders spot cargoes of medium sour Oriente and heavy sour Napo crude, with a portion of exports also earmarked for servicing oil-backed loans to China.

Downstream, PetroEcuador is awaiting a proposal next month from a consortium led by South Korea's Hyundai and US contractor KBR to operate its 110,000 b/d Esmeraldas refinery.

Ecuadoreans go to the polls on 7 February to replace current president Lenin Moreno.

By Patricia Garip