Ecuador Expects Investment of $2.12 Billion for 17 Mature Oil Fields

   By Mercedes Alvaro 
 

QUITO, Ecuador--Ecuador expects $2.12 billion in private investments over the next five years for 17 mature oil fields operated by state-run oil company Petroamazonas, which is seeking to boost production and increase oil reserves.

On Wednesday, Petroamazonas signed contracts with five consortia that will carry out secondary and enhanced oil-recovery projects with the aim to increase reserves by about 171 million barrels at these fields, which currently produce about 107,000 barrels of crude oil a day.

Halliburton Co., Schlumberger Ltd., China's Sinopec, Argentina's YPF SA and Ecuador's Sertecpet are leading the respective consortia.

In the first phase of the projects, companies will drill and repair damaged wells, among other works. In a second stage, companies will apply enhanced oil recovery and secondary recovery technology.

The government of President Rafael Correa expects to improve the recovery factor at those fields by three or four percentage points. The current recovery factor is about 32%.

Companies that signed contracts should provide financing for the works, and they will receive a fee for each incremental barrel of production. Petroamazonas will continue as operator of the fields.

Currently, Ecuador produces about 550,000 barrels of crude oil a day.

Write to Mercedes Alvaro at [e-mail]