According to Reuters article published on November 22, 2022, Ecuador is looking to attract foreign investment in key oil blocks ITT and Sacha in a bid to boost the country's total oil output to 600,000 barrels per day by 2025 from less 500,000 currently, the country's energy minister Fernando Santos said on Monday.
The plan would allow private companies to help state-run oil firm Petroecuador up output via service provision contracts, Santos told Reuters in an interview.
"If we achieve foreign investment at ITT and Sacha we could get to 600,000 barrels per day at the end of the administration of President (Guillermo) Lasso," Santos said. "If we manage to attract prestigious companies for these two camps production will increase, if not it will stagnate where it is."
Ecuador's current production hovers around 490,000 bpd. Together ITT and Sacha produced close to 118,000 bpd on Friday, according to official figures.
Lasso pledged to increase output to 1 million bpd when he took office in May 2021, but that goal has been revised repeatedly due to problems for the sector.
Petroecuador will take a decision about the two camps in the first few days of 2023, Santos said.
Production could rise by 30,000 bpd in 2023 if environmental permissions are given to operate four new perforation platforms at the Ishpingo field, part of ITT, Santos said.
"If we don't get the permissions I'll be honest, we won't meet the goal," he said.
Negotiations with Petrolia, a subsidiary of Canada's New Stratus Energy, are ongoing, Santos said, a bid to reach a deal to avoid the return of two blocks to the state.
Petrolia has asked to extend the contracts, changing one to give the company a participatory role, but authorities have said the request came after the time stipulated by law.
"If we reach a deal in time it would stop the reversion," Santos said, adding otherwise the contracts will expire on Dec. 31.
