QUITO: Ecuador takes over two oil operations in the Amazon rainforest. which since 1999 has been operated by Spain’s Repsol under expiring contracts, state-owned Petroecuador said Sunday.
Petroecuador said in a statement that It was “considered operating” of blocks 16 and 67 after Repsol’s exploration and exploitation contract expired Dec. 31.
The block is in the Amazon province of Orellana in eastern Ecuador. and produces 13,533 barrels of oil per day.
It is located in Yasuni National Park, home to a nature reserve and indigenous community.
Crude oil is the main source of income in Ecuador. With a total production of 479,000 barrels per day from January to November 2022, 78 percent is produced by Petroecuador.
The country exported 312,400 barrels per day during that period. Generated nearly $8.4 billion in revenue. According to the central bank
In 2020, the Ecuadorian government blocked a deal for Repsol to sell the rights to both blocks to Canadian company New Stratus Energy, meaning the blocks would revert to status when the contract expires.
The oil spill in eastern Ecuador last February. has flowed to the nature reserve and polluting the rivers that supply water to indigenous communities.
Nearly two hectares (five acres) of Cayambe-Coca National Park’s protected area has been contaminated. The same goes for the Coca River, one of the largest rivers in Ecuador’s Amazon Basin.
in May 2020 in the same area A mudslide damaged the oil pipeline. As a result, 15,000 barrels of oil pollute three rivers in the Amazon basin, affecting many riverside communities.
