Latest news with #Petroecuador
Reuters
5 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
Peru's Petroperu eyes pipeline link for Ecuador oil
LIMA, Aug 7 (Reuters) - State-run Petroperu is working on a framework agreement with its counterpart Petroecuador to connect oil wells in Ecuador with Peru's northern pipeline, its chairman said on Thursday. The agreement, which is being drafted by Peru's Ministry of Energy and Mines, would include investment and execution commitments for an approximately 60-kilometer (37-mile) connection line in an Amazonian region on the countries' shared border. "The exact investment for this connection and how it will be financed have yet to be defined," Petroperu Chairman Alejandro Narvaez said. Speaking at a conference with the foreign press, the executive stated that the project, after a development period, would allow Ecuadorean crude to reach the newly expanded 95,000 barrel-per-day Talara refinery in northern Peru via the pipeline. The Peruvian oil company, which is navigating a crisis after the larger-than-planned investment in Talara, expects to post a profit of $103 million next year, recovering from an estimated loss of $223 million for 2025. Petroperu CEO Oscar Vera, speaking at the same conference, said Petroecuador would likely make the majority of the investment. "It is of greater interest to them, because it is very costly for Petroecuador to transport crude using their current methods," Vera said. Petroecuador did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Peru's 1,100-kilometer pipeline, which has suffered frequent attacks from local communities that have halted its activities, is currently operational but is not in service as it has no active transport contracts with area producers. Separately, Petroperu announced earlier this week that it had exported approximately 137,500 barrels of commercial jet fuel to Ecuador from Talara.
Yahoo
05-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Pipeline Disruption Slashes Ecuador Output by 133,000 bpd
Ecuador's state oil company, Petroecuador, has declared force majeure on its operations after both major crude pipelines, SOTE and OCP, halted flows due to worsening erosion in the Amazonian province of Napo. The company suspended activities this week to prevent further damage to critical infrastructure as erosion along the Coca River continues to threaten oil transport lines and the Coca Codo Sinclair hydroelectric plant, Ecuador's largest. The suspension has already cut Ecuador's crude output by an estimated 133,000 barrels per day (bpd), based on Petroecuador data, placing fresh strain on the country's oil-dependent economy. Ecuador produced about 464,000 bpd on average in 2024, according to official statistics. "Force majeure has been declared so that (Petroecuador) can act with all the tools necessary," Petroecuador chief executive Leonard Bruns told Reuters. This is the latest in a series of setbacks for the company. In May, operations at the Esmeraldas refinery, the country's largest, with a 110,000 bpd capacity, were suspended after a fire damaged a fuel oil tank. Two months earlier, a landslide in the northeast led to one of the country's worst oil spills in years, prompting Petroecuador to shut down the SOTE pipeline and declare a 60-day force majeure. Approximately 25,000 barrels of crude spilled into rivers near the Colombian border, disrupting crude signature export, Oriente crude, is a medium-to-heavy sour grade with an API gravity of 23.6 and sulfur content of 1.61%. Last year, the SOTE system transported over 104 million barrels of Oriente crude. Petroecuador has declared force majeure multiple times in recent years, including in 2022 when it suspended nearly half its production amid protests by the Kichwa community over alleged breaches of social and environmental agreements. Ecuador remains one of South America's key oil producers, alongside Venezuela and Colombia. The oil sector remains central to the country's economy, generating roughly $8.6 billion in revenue in 2024, equivalent to about 7% of GDP, according to the Ministry of Finance. However, output has dropped nearly 100,000 bpd over the past decade due to underinvestment, aging fields, infrastructure failures, and political volatility. President Daniel Noboa has set a target of $42 billion in oil sector investment to reverse this decline and raise production. Last month, Petroecuador awarded a drilling contract to China's Sinopec to develop fields in the Ecuadorian Amazon. The new drilling campaign is only expected to add approximately 12,000 bpd over the next several years, according to company estimates. Still, Ecuador's ambitions may be running up against global market headwinds. Oil prices have moderated significantly since their 2022 peaks during the global energy shock triggered by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Brent crude averaged around $83 per barrel in the first half of 2025, down from over $100 in mid-2022. Lower prices reduce the return on investment for new upstream projects, particularly in environmentally sensitive or high-cost regions like the Amazon price softening coincides with a broader slowdown in energy investment worldwide. Although global upstream spending remains elevated by historical standards, international oil companies have become more cautious in politically unstable markets. For Ecuador, which requires an estimated $10 billion in upstream investment over the next five years just to offset natural decline, this poses a significant risk. Ecuadorian officials have projected national oil production could peak at 600,000 bpd in 2026 before declining to around 395,000 bpd by 2028, a figure that appears in internal planning documents reviewed by local media. Petroecuador's fields face particularly steep decline rates, though the oft-cited 23% annual figure has not been publicly confirmed by the company. According to a July 3 analysis by economist Freddy García of Andersen Ecuador, the production cutback to 332,129 bpd has resulted in daily losses of around $8 million. García warned that the government would likely need to revise its budget plan and seek new external financing to close the fiscal gap. 'The loss of revenue forces a revision of the budget or the search for external financing to cover the gap,' he said. He also noted that oil revenue is no longer a reliable base for public spending due to production volatility and declining field productivity. Ecuador also faces broader energy security issues. Grid reliability is increasingly strained by both hydroelectric vulnerabilities and fossil fuel disruptions. Yet with a fiscal deficit exceeding $5 billion and high sovereign debt levels, the country has little room to reduce reliance on oil. By Alex Kimani for More Top Reads From this article on
Reuters
03-07-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Ecuador's state oil company Petroecuador declares force majeure on its operations
QUITO, July 3 (Reuters) - Ecuadorean state oil company Petroecuador declared force majeure on all operations, including crude exports, after two key pipelines suspended pumping, the firm's head said on Thursday. The state-owned SOTE and OCP oil pipelines suspended pumping earlier this week to protect infrastructure threatened by heavy rains, which sped up erosion in the Amazonian province of Napo. "Force majeure has been declared so that (Petroecuador) can act with all the tools necessary," Petroecuador chief Leonard Bruns said. The company also said it had begun shutting down oil wells in the region due to the pause in transport operations. Ecuador's crude production fell some 133,000 barrels per day (bpd) since the operations were paused, according to a report published on Thursday by the nation's Hydrocarbons Regulation and Control Agency. The erosion, which began along the Coca River in 2020, has since expanded, damaging oil infrastructure and roadways and now threatening the Coca Codo Sinclair hydroelectric plant, the largest in Ecuador. Authorities said temporary bypasses are under construction on both pipelines to resume operations, while studies have been authorized for permanent rerouting to avoid the impacted area.
New Indian Express
03-07-2025
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Amazon, the river of burning dreams
'I went on the river for money, I sold my rotten shack / For a rusty tanker leaking oil, and the burning sun was on my back / Travelled up the ragin' river, I watched the jungle burn... I'm ridin' on a river of dreams / Amazon, is it heaven or hell?' — Amazon (River of Dreams), a 1993 song by jazz guitarist Artie Traum emblematic of the iconic river basin's dire straits three decades later Climate impact on the Amazon rainforest and the issue of fossil fuels brought together the heads of Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela—eight members of Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO)—after 14 years in August 2023 at Belem, Brazil. Home to more than 1.5 million indigenous people representing over 385 ethnic groups and a verdantly diverse biome, the enigmatic Amazonia seeks inclusive social support, besides an environmental look. Holding a fifth of all newly-identified global oil reserves, the region is currently witness to a frenzy as oil majors and nouveau rentiers capitalise on the opportunity. However, the well-documented history of 'experimental exploration' in the Amazon basin reflects failed projects and environmental delinquency. Recurrent mechanical failures, sabotage, corrosion and natural disasters on ageing and 'strategically misplaced' pipelines have resulted in thousands of oil spills over the last 50 years. River pollution and destruction of planet's largest rainforest remains a politically sensitive issue for Latin American oil producers, as they rely on exports to usher social and economic welfare. With rampant hydrocarbon contamination of numerous waterways and Amazon tributaries, infrastructural compatibility and logistics management is essential for ethical production practices. The catastrophic March 2025 spill in coastal Esmeraldas from a ruptured trans-Ecuadorian pipeline, the worst in 30 years, is such a tragedy. The historic referendum of August 2023 precluded exploration in the country's Yasuní National Park, a Unesco Biosphere Reserve. Ceasing further operations in the area, Petroecuador was directed to 'revive the ecosystems and dismantle any infrastructure within a year'. However, 'stranded assets' and debris continue to besmear the pristine environs.
Yahoo
17-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Ecuador pipeline burst stops flow of crude
Ecuador's state energy company said it stopped pumping oil through the country's main pipeline Monday due to a rupture in a section running through the Amazon. "The valves have been closed and oil pumping has been suspended," Petroecuador said in a statement. The company blamed the incident on a landslide and it was not immediately clear if a spill occurred. In a statement issued Monday night, the company said it doesn't immediately foresee shutting down oil wells. The "Trans-Ecuadorian" pipeline has a capacity to pump 360,000 barrels a day. In March, more than 25,000 barrels spilled in the northwestern coastal province of Esmeraldas. Oil is one of Ecuador's primary exports. Last year, the country sold $8.6 billion worth of crude oil. In 2024, Ecuador produced an average of 475,000 barrels a day, of which more than 70 percent was exported. Almost half of the exports go to North America. pld/arb/sms/sla/md
