Section » Oil

Ecuador enters new agreement to pay debt to Schlumberger

QUITO, Nov 15 (Reuters) – Ecuadorean state-owned oil firm Petroamazonas will sign an agreement this month to settle $300 million in unpaid bills from oil services company Schlumberger, an arrangement that includes a five-year financing deal, the Oil Ministry said on Wednesday.
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The smallest member of OPEC earlier this year reported a debt of $850 million with Schlumberger that it had promised to pay down in separate disbursements. Read Article

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Ecuador’s attempt to extort Chevron begins to wind down (Opinion)

Michael I. Krauss , Contributor Law Prof. Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. I have described in detail, in numerous previous columns over several years, Ecuador’s corrupt efforts to almost $10 billion from Chevron Corp. for pollution damages allegedly caused by Texaco (whose interests were purchased by Chevron). Interested readers should consult these […]

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Ecuador Defends Oil Drilling in Yasuni National Park

YASUNI PARK, Ecuador (Reuters REPORTED) – The manager of state oil company Petroamazonas defended Ecuador’s plans to expand exploitation of major oil reserves in one of the world’s most species-diverse rainforests, saying it will ensure minimum environmental impact and use appropriate technology. The OPEC country is avidly seeking resources to revitalize an ailing economy, after […]

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Ecuador has plenty of unharnessed oil potential, most of it under the Amazon forest

epmag.com /Ricardo Martinez Díaz – Ecuador is not typically the place people think of for booming oil production. Its output has remained stable over the past 10 years due to relatively stagnant exploration activity. But there is plenty of unharnessed potential, and the country’s new administration under President Lenín Moreno is hinting at taking advantage […]

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Ecuador: Military locates clandestine oil operation connected to national pipeline

eltelegrafo.com.ec / mcahine translated – An intelligence patrol of the Corps of Engineers of the Army revealed an underground underground installation in the Trans-Ecuadorian Pipeline System (SOTE) of the state-owned Petroecuador in Sucumbíos. The finding, which was detected 1 km from the Lumbaquí station in the canton of Gonzalo Pizarro, consisted of a hose with […]

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Belarusian firm may have found new oil reservoir in Ecuador

eng.belta.by /  1 September (BelTA) – While building a new well in the Armadillo oil field in Ecuador, specialists of the Belarusian oil company Belorusneft secured free oil flow to the surface of up to 100 tonnes per day, the company’s press service told BelTA. According to the acquired data, the Belarusian specialists may have […]

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Petroecuador claims no gas shortage despite rumors on social media

Despite saying no gas shortage, petroecuador leaves open possiblity of shutdown of one of the country’s refineries expreso.ec (machine translated Petroecuador says there will be no gas shortage The company denies a future without fuel, but leaves open the possibility of a planned stoppage in one of its three refineries. Although the statement is clear, […]

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Ecuador to increase oil output, ignore quota limits by OPEC

theguardian.com reported – Ecuador risks Opec split by increasing oil output Ecuador has become the first country to publicly admit it will not meet Opec’s production curbs, saying it needs to pump more oil to address its fiscal deficit. The South American country’s promised cut of 26,000 barrels of oil a day is a tiny […]

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Ecuador slow in paying bills due to Schlumberger oil giant, causing financial stress

By Gary McWilliams and Alexandra Valencia/businessinsider.com HOUSTON/QUITO, March 28 (Reuters) – OPEC production cuts and economic woes are complicating Schlumberger NV’s efforts to collect $1.1 billion from Ecuador’s state-owned Petroamazonas, casting a cloud over the oil services company’s first-quarter results. “Continuing payment issues” in Ecuador are hurting earnings, Chief Executive Officer Paal Kibsgaard said in […]

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Ecuador: 16 of 18 defendants guilty in Petroecuador bribery,corruption case

elcomercio.com reported that a criminal court found 16 of 18 defendants in the Petroecuador bribery, corruption scandal guilty. Ten of the defendants were sentenced to five years in prison. They include former officials Carlos Pareja Yannuzzelli, Álex Bravo, Paquita de Mora and Arturo Escobar. The ten must pay $25 million in reparations. In addition six […]

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Conoco Phillips wins $380 million dollar judgment against Ecuador

seekingalpha.com/By: Carl Surran, SA News Editor A ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) subsidiary wins a $380M judgment against Ecuador by a World Bank panel for the unlawful 2009 seizure of rights the company held to oil and gas land in the Amazon rainforest. Ecuador had said that the consortium abandoned the area illegally in a dispute over taxes, […]

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Rally in oil prices, Ecuador back to borrow more money

reuters.com reported Ecuador returned to the US dollar bond market Thursday for the third time this year, raising US$750m through a new 10-year note following a recent rally in oil prices. The deal, rated B by S&P and Fitch, will provide much needed funds for the oil-exporting nation, which plunged into recession last year. One […]

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Ecuador confirms oil drilling started in Yasuní National Park

THEGUARDIAN.COM reported Ecuador has confirmed that oil drilling has begun under the country’s Yasuní national park, one of the world’s biodiversity hotspots. But the government claims that there has been only minimal disturbance to the Unesco biosphere reserve in the Amazon rainforest since extraction of 23,000 barrels of oil a day began last month. Ecologists, […]

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Ecuador: Judge orders preventitive prison for ally of President, on corruption charges

FORMER OIL MINISTER LEFT ECUADOR ON SEPTEMBER 28TH, 2016 reuters.com reported a local judge in Ecuador on Friday ordered preventive prison for a former oil minister on grounds of bribery amid an investigation into a $12 million corruption scandal in the Andean country’s state oil company. Ecuador’s public prosecutor’s office has accused Carlos Pareja, an […]

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Ecuador: Satellite image shows suspected pipeline in Ishpingo-Tambococha-Tiputini block

news.mongabay.com/ Jeremy Hance reported Mongabay has obtained a new, high-resolution satellite image of Petroamazona’s suspected pipeline and drilling platforms in the famed Ishpingo-Tambococha-Tiputini (ITT) block. Obtained from Planet, the image was analyzed by the team at the Monitoring of the Andean Amazon Project (MAAP) just after Ecuador announced it had begun drilling in arguably the […]

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Ecuador: Yasuni Begins to Pump Oil

amazonwatch.org reported from deep inside the most biodiverse part of Earth’s largest rainforest, there is terrible news: Oil extraction has begun in quite possibly the worst place imaginable. amazonwatch.org – Commercial oil production has begun at Tiputini C, the first of a slated 200-plus wells inside the ITT fields (Ishpingo, Tambococha,Tiputini) underneath Ecuador’s Yasuni National […]

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Ecuador pays $112 million to Chevron in arbitration award

energyvoice.com reported oil major Chevron has been paid $112million by Ecuador over a contract dispute lasting more than four decades. The move comes despite the side remaining in disagreement. In 2011, a Hague arbitration awarded Chevron $96million in a dispute stemming from a 1973 deal that called for Texaco – which was later acquired by […]

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Ecuador: At current oil prices, 20 billion dollars in proven oil reserves declared

Ecuador Confirms Another $20 Billion in Oil Reserves telesurtv.net reported a U.S. oil engineering company said that the Amazonian site has 1,672 million barrels of proven reserves, nearly twice what was previously believed. Ecuador’s proven oil reserves grew recently with the announcement by Vice-President Jorge Glas that Block 43 in the Amazonian province of Orellana […]

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Ecuador: No reason given for resignation of oil minister

Reuters:dailymail.co.uk reported Rafael Correa the president of Ecuador has named a new oil minister after the resignation of Carlos Pareja. Jose Icaza as the Andean nation’s new oil minister, according to a government document published on Monday. Icaza was named to the post following the resignation of former minister Carlos Pareja. The decree did not […]

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Ecuador drilling on edge of Yasuni

Theguardian.com reported Ecuador drills for oil on edge of pristine rainforest in Yasuni First of 200 wells drilled close to controversial block of forest known to have two of the last tribes living in isolation Ecuador has started drilling for oil on the edge of a controversial block of pristine rainforest inhabited by two of […]

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Ecuador’s oil troubles worse than other oil exporting countries (opinion)

Steve St. Angelo, SRSRocco/silverdoctors.com: There’s an ongoing catastrophe taking place in Ecuador. Not only has a significant part of the Amazon been polluted by toxic waste oil left behind from the wonderful folks at Texaco when the company started drilling for oil in Ecuador back in the 1970’s, but the low oil price has totally […]

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Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela selling crude below cost of production

reuters.com reported a more acute crude price slump this month has put several South American countries in the difficult position of selling oil for less than what it costs to produce, according to traders and sources at three companies in Colombia and Venezuela. So far, the most affected crudes are blends formulated with naphtha and […]

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Ecuador’s country risk one of highest in region due in part to collapse of oil prices

IRAN COMING INTO THE WORLD OIL MARKET TO PUT FURTHER PRESSURE ON OIL PRICES elcomercio.com reported the end of international sanctions against Iran, which became effective last Saturday (January 16, 2016), also assumes the termination of this nation oil embargo. Iran will play a decisive role in the energy market and expects to quickly increase […]

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Venezuela Declares Economic, Financial Emergency for at least 60 days

Expreso.ec reported the president of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro, the economic emergency decreed yesterday in Venezuela, giving it full powers to legislate in this area for 60 days. The move comes amid the worst crisis of the past 35 years. With a barrel of oil declining, with a paralyzed private productive apparatus because of the lack […]

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Ecuador secures furhter discount in compensation owed to Occidenal Petroleum

upstreamonline.com reported the government of Ecuador has reportedly secured a further discount of at least 18% on compensation required by a World Bank tribunal for seizing Occidental Petroleum’s assets. In 2012, the International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) awarded Occidental $1.77 billion. An ICSID tribunal then cut the award by 40% in November […]

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Oil Company to invest 4.9 billion in Ecuador to increase oil production

(Prensa Latina) The multinational French Oil company Schlumberger will invest 4.9 billion dollars to increase crude production in a bloc operated by state company Petroecuador, reporte dan official source. In a communique of the Republicâ�Ös Vicepresidency, the agreement signed in presence of Vicepresident Jorge Glas, states that in order to achieve that target, the foreign […]

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Ecuador: President Correa announces country losing money on each barrel of oil sold

AP/Maria Jose Sanchez wrote Ecuadoreans are already contending with a rumbling, ash-spewing volcano and rising living costs because they use the appreciating U.S. dollar as their currency. Now they’ve been told that Ecuador’s oil — its principal export and a vital source of government funding — costs more to produce than it earns. President Rafael […]

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Ecuador: Govt. spies may have broken law in obtaining personal information on activists

theguardian.com reported Ecuadorian government spies may have illegally targeted political and environmental opponents to president Rafael Correa’s plan to extract oil in Yasuni national park…Ecuadorian spies may have broken the law by obtaining personal information on MPs, environmentalists, indigenous groups, human rights activists, academics and political opponents of president Rafael Correa who opposed the exploitation […]

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Hillary Clinton, State Department, and Chevron litigation with Ecuador: A timeline

courthousenews.com/ ADAM KLASFELD …This interactive feature from Courthouse News presents a timeline on how Hillary Clinton’s tenure as secretary of the U.S. State Department coincided with diplomatic golden years for Chevron in decades-long litigation over oil pollution in Ecuador. January 1, 2009 Madam Secretary Six years into the Lago Agrio litigation, Chevron hits its peak […]

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Colombia: Confidential oil studies conducted by Repsol stolen

(BERNAMA-NNN-EFE) Reported that two hard drives containing confidential studies done by Spanish oil company Repsol were stolen from the National Hydrocarbons Agency, or ANH, headquarters, Colombian Energy and Mines Minister Tomas Gonzalez said Monday. The theft of the information was discovered on Friday and prosecutors were notified so they could open an investigation, Gonzalez told […]

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Ecuador: President Correa Warns Brad Pitt not to participate in making of pro-Chevron movie

telesurtv.net reported The South American president reiterated his call for the actor to visit the country and hear from the victims of the ecological disaster. Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa once again issued an invite renowned actor and producer Brad Pitt to visit the South American country. Correa’s repeat invitation came after reports that Pitt’s production […]

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Ecuador: Minister forecasts strong growth despite oil price decline

WSJ.com/Mercedes Alvaro reported Ecuador’s Minister Coordinator for Economic Policies Patricio Rivera says the government isn’t planning new budget cuts despite the fall in oil prices and the appreciation of the U.S. dollar. In January, President Rafael Correa’s government announced a $1.42 billion cut in public spending, equivalent to 4% of its fiscal budget, due to […]

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Ecuador: Oil Revenue down sharply in January 2015

Mercedes Alvaro/WSJ.com reported Ecuador’s crude oil export revenue totaled $598 million in January, down about 44% from a year earlier, due to lower oil prices, the central bank said on Friday. Lower oil prices are expected to drag down economic growth, in a country whose oil sector generates about one-quarter of total government revenue and […]

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Canadian energy firm downsizing presence in Ecuador

Argusmedia.com reported Canadian independent Ivanhoe Energy is downsizing its presence in Ecuador after failing to reach an agreement with China’s state-owned CNPC to develop the Pungarayacu oil sands deposit. “The company is scaling back its activities in Ecuador in response to significantly lower oil prices and a delay in discussions with Ivanhoe’s partner on moving […]

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China Grants Ecuador 5.3 Billion Dollar Credit Line

(Reuters Reported) – China has granted a $5.3 billion credit line to Ecuador as the oil-reliant Andean nation reorganizes its finances after a crash in crude prices slashed export earnings, Ecuador’s official newspaper reported on Tuesday. Ecuadorean Finance Minister Fausto Herrera said the government would tap $1.5 billion this year of the 30-year credit, which […]

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Ecuador: Pres Correa states 2015 to be “difficult” year

af.reuters.com reported President Rafael Correa began an official visit to China on Monday to seek additional credit lines. He has said 2015 will be a “difficult” year due to challenges such as the large expenditures still required to complete construction of several hydroelectric dams. Ecuador has cut its 2015 budget by 4 percent due to […]

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Ecuador Government attempts to prevent court discovery of documents at its U.S.-based PR firm

freebeacon.com reported the government of Ecuador is attempting to prevent the release of information related to its contract with a New York-based public relations firm that may have violated federal law and is under investigation in the South American nation. A federal judge in New York last week ordered the firm, MCSquared PR, to turn […]

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Ecuador to slash budget 1.5 billion as oil sinks to five year lows

BUSINESSWEEK.COM/BLOOMBERG: Ecuador, which relies on crude for about a third of its budget, plans to cut spending next year by as much as $1.5 billion and will seek additional financing after prices for the OPEC member’s oil fell to five-year lows. The South American nation will trim current and investment spending and use credit lines […]

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Ecuador’s PetroEcuador prices crude exports using Argus Index

hellenicshippingnews.com reported Opec member Ecuador’s state-owned oil company PetroEcuador has started pricing its crude exports using the Argus Sour Crude Index (ASCITM) published by global energy and commodity news and price reporting agency Argus. This marks the first consistent use of the ASCI price — a volume-weighted average of US deepwater sour crude deals — […]

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Ecuador bans German PM’s into country, claim delegates visit would create skewed image of country’s reality

DW.DE reported Ecuador’s government has banned a group of German MPs from entering the country. The official reason: miscommunication – but the government is also unhappy with the politicians’ plans to meet anti-government activists. Environment MPs’ Ecuador trip canceled over drilling row The Ecuador government has banned a group of German MPs from entering the […]

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Ecuador: Minister of Economy states country will not be affected by drop in oil price

telesurtv.net reported the Minister of Economy of the oil rich nation explained that the country will not be affected because of the drop in oil price. The fall in oil prices will not affect Ecuador the Minister of Economic Policy, Patricio Rivera, said on Thursday. He added that Ecuador has several alternatives to address the […]

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Ecuador: How the Sarayaku people stood up to big oil

mongabay.com reported…Standing before a packed audience of 2,000 spectators, Patricia Gualinga Montalvo calmly addressed the crowd, sharing the story of her people. The Sarayaku, a Kichwa indigenous people numbering 1,200 from the Ecuadorian Amazon, won a historic court case in 2012. The Inter-American Court of Human Rights ruled that the government of Ecuador must publicly […]

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70 dollar price point for barrel squeezing lifeblood out of Venezuela

washintonpost.com reported Venezuelan oil, the lifeblood of the leftist revolution entrusted to Maduro by the late Hugo Chávez, was worth $97 a barrel then. Now it’s middling around $70, and with every dollar it dips, Venezuela’s export-dependent, popularity-challenged government loses $700 million a year. Read Article

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Ecuador: President Correa declares country no longer oil dependent

telesurtv.net reported Ecuador seeks to increase investment in public spending despite declining oil prices. During his weekly address to the nation, President Rafael Correa declared that Ecuador is no longer an oil dependent country. President Correa stated today that only 18 percent of total oil revenues would be allocated towards the budget for the fiscal […]

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Ecuador: Correa defends oil drilling in Yasuni National Park

laht.com reported Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa has defended his government’s plan to extract oil from the Yasuni National Park in the Amazon, and said that it will affect less than 200 hectares (494 acres) of the nearly 1 million hectares (2.5 million acres) of the natural reserve of high biodiversity. According to the latest calculations, […]

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Ecuador, Venezuela plan to propose to OPEC to cut production

WSJ: By Mercedes Alvaro QUITO—Ecuador and Venezuela plan to present a joint proposal at the next meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries that will “imply” cutting some production, President Rafael Correa said. Read Article – Registration Required

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Ecuador Forecast: Oil Exports to grow 5.2 percent in 2015

hellenicshippingnews.com reported Ecuador’s oil exports will grow by 5.2pc in 2015 to 422,740 b/d, up from 401,917 b/d in 2014, according to new finance ministry projections. But the higher shipments will not necessarily augment revenue in light of falling oil prices. The oil price assumption underpinning the government´s 2015 budget is $79.70/bl, compared with $86.40/bl […]

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Ecuador: 2008 Interview in English with President Rafael Correa

INTERVIEW WITH PRESIDENT RAFAEL CORREA IN 2008 DISCUSSING THE CHEVRON LAWSUIT AND OTHER ISSUES IN ECUADOR INTERVIEW BEGINS AT 47.52 IN THE VIDEO GOING TO MOVE OR VISIT ECUADOR – READ THIS BOOK democracynow.org reported …. play highlights of an exclusive interview with Ecuador’s President Rafael Correa. In a wide-ranging conversation with journalist Greg Palast, […]

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Ecuador: cutting some low-priority investments in oil sector due to lower prices

af.reuters.com reported Ecuador said on Tuesday it is cutting some low-priority investments in its oil sector to protect the South American OPEC country’s finances because of lower crude prices. “The cuts are for projects that don’t affect oil production, we’re not cutting investment for production, we’re cutting projects that aren’t priorities,” Finance Minister Fausto Herrera […]

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Ecuador: As oil prices fall can Correa sustain achievements of his “citizen’s revolution”?

blogs.ft.com / Andres Shipani/ Of the generation of radical Latin American leaders that have won office in the last decade, Ecuador’s Rafael Correa – perhaps best known internationally for sheltering WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange at his country’s London embassy – is among those with the most successful record. He has reduced poverty, promoted faster economic […]

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Question of whether Canada’s courts should hear Ecuador judgement against Chevron amazon cleanup dispute

theglobeandmail.com reported Chevron Corp. is trying to convince Canada’s courts to impose “novel and unnecessary” barriers to block a group of Amazon villagers seeking to enforce a controversial $9.5-billion (U.S.) Ecuadorean environmental judgment against the U.S. oil giant, a coalition of Canadian human-rights groups alleges.The battle over the cleanup bill for oil pollution left in […]

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Ecuador: Sixty Minutes Video Report on the Chevron case

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Ecuador: National Organization for Women under fire from Indigenous groups for accepting money from Chevron

NEW YORK, N.Y., Oct. 17 /CSRwire/ – The legal arm of the National Organization for Woman (“NOW”) is under attack from rainforest indigenous villagers and their allies for accepting a large donation from Chevron and then filing a legal brief in favor of the oil company in its campaign to evade an Ecuador court judgment […]

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Venezuela: International Tribunal finds in favor of Exxon in expropriated assets

bbc.com reported Venezuela must pay oil giant Exxon Mobil $1.6bn (£1bn) in compensation for expropriated assets, an international arbitration tribunal has decided. Exxon had claimed up to $16.6bn over the nationalisation of its Cerro Negro Project and other losses in 2007. Venezuela has not said whether it will appeal. But the foreign minister said the […]

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Ecuador aims to expand ethanol distribution to reduce gas emissions

(SeeNews) reported Ecuador’s government wants to expand local ethanol distribution throughout the country by 2017 so as to reduce gas emissions and fuel imports, president Rafael Correa said Saturday. The mix containing locally-produced sugarcane ethanol is expected to replace a type of petrol (gasoline), called “extra”, and to represent 45% of the national fuel market, […]

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Emilio Palacio alleges corruption in bidding process for asphalt during closure of refinery in Ecuador

EmilioPalacio.com reported CLOSING THE REFINERY ESMERALDAS WILL COST A FORTUNE TO ECUADOR. What the country does not know is that this should be not only for technical reasons but also to corruption. As shown, this “small” button: A recent acquisition of 225,000 barrels (or 37,500 tons) of asphalt Petroecuador will entail a premium of approximately […]

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Ecuador issues apology for permitting oil drilling on tribal lands

buenosairesherald.com reported Ecuador has apologized to an indigenous community for authorizing oil drilling on ancestral land without their permission. The apology to the Sarayaku community came two years after the Inter-American Court of Human Rights ruled that the OPEC nation had violated the tribe’s right to be consulted on oil concessions granted for their land. […]

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Mexico: Cartels becoming more sophisticated in theft of oil

kentucky.com/AP reported figures released by Petroleos Mexicanos last week show the gangs are becoming more prolific and sophisticated. So far this year, thieves across Mexico have drilled 2,481 illegal taps into state-owned pipelines, up more than one-third from the same period of 2013. Pemex estimates it’s lost some 7.5 million barrels worth $1.15 billion. Read […]

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Ecuador: Legal Battles over Pungarayacu oil field

platts.com reported like a lot of other oil producers, Ecuador is seeing flagging levels of output. One field holds promise to reverse that, but its development has become controversial. In this week’s Oilgram News column, At the Wellhead, Quito correspondent Stephan Kuffner discusses the challenges facing the field’s development. —————————— Ecuador’s president Rafael Correa once […]

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Colombia: Rebel attacks on pipelines threatening oil production

ABC.es reported the main company of the country warns that last year there were 235 attacks, while in 2010 were 32. Two contractors working for Ecopetrol have just killed. The facts are not helping the President of Colombia, Juan Manuel Santos, to keep his speech of a negotiation process with the rebels. This week, Javier […]

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Ecuador: Italian Oil Firm Discovers Estimated 300 million barrels of oil

Reuters reported that an Italian oil company has discovered an estimated 300 millions barrels of oil located 260 kilomters southeast of Quito. It is believed that the reserves have the capacity to extract up to 2000 barrels of oil per day. The firm from Italy is Eni. Read Article

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Ecuador: Several State Oil Firms to invest in 490,000 acre oil concession

wsj.com/Mercedes Alvaro reported Exploration in the 490,000-Acre Oil Concession to Start in January State-run oil companies from Ecuador, Chile and Belarus plan to invest about $400 million to explore and develop the 490,000-acre Block 28 oil concession in southeast Ecuador. Ecuador’s Petroamazonas will have a 51% stake in the project, while Sipetrol SA, a unit […]

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Esmeraldas Ecuador: Refinery to be shut down for ten months begininning October

ecuadortimes.net reported the Esmeraldas refinery will be paralyzed from October 1 to take on its stage of rehabilitation, which has been steadily decreasing its processing capacity. Since 2008 Petroecuador has worked to repower the plant by signing a contract with the SK Korea firm. The Refining Manager of Petroecuador, Carlos Pareja Yanuzzelli, said that the […]

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Fracking gets green light in Colombia, to begin in 2015

Semana.com reported Orlando Cabrales, Deputy Minister of Mines and Energy said that this controversial practice will begin next year. The Government gave the green light to the technique of oil extraction fracking (hydraulic fracturing), the announcement was made ​​by the Deputy Minister of Mines and Energy, Orlando Cabrales, the objective is intended to increase natural […]

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How China Took Control of 90% of Ecuador’s oil supply

mining.com/Reuters reported China is serious about expanding its international portfolio: The Asian giant’s recent foreign purchases include a 20% stake in Brazil’s Libra oil field, a skyscraper near Wall Street, and the country’s Lenovo tried, but failed, to buy Canada’s Blackberry. But these acquisitions pale in comparison to what records reviewed by Reuters are showing. […]

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Ecuador in talks with China to renew $1.5 billion credit line

Aug 26 (Reuters) – Ecuador is in talks with China Development Bank to renew a $1.5 billion credit line, the Finance Ministry said on Tuesday, saying that the funds would be used for investments to be carried out in 2015. It was not immediately evident when the original credit line was approved. Ecuador’s Finance Ministry […]

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Venezuela’s crude oil shipments to allies falls to five year low

mercopress.com reported Venezuela cheap oil and fuel shipments to allies fall to a five-year low Venezuela’s shipments of crude oil and fuel to its allies have fallen to a five-year low as a weak economy hits its ability to uphold accords that former president Hugo Chávez struck to lower energy costs for friends and expand […]

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Chile to drill 55 new gas wells in Tierra del Fuego

mercopress.com reported Chile’s oil corporation plans to pad drill 55 wells for gas in Tierra del Fuego Chile’s petroleum corporation, ENAP, is planning to drill 55 non conventional new wells in Tierra del Fuego beginning September until the end of 2015, with the purpose of increasing the current production from 450.000 cubic meters per day […]

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Mexico: illegal oil tapping contaminates San Juan River in Nueva Leon

bakken.com reported an illegal oil tap has been blamed for a spill that contaminated a 14-mile stretch of the San Juan River in the Nueva Leon state in northern Mexico. Mexico’s environmental protection agency Profepa puts the blame on criminal gangs attempting to steal the oil from a pipeline. According to Profepa, the rupture occurred […]

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Ecuador: Ecologic Study of oil production in Amazon Region and and cancer mortality

Cancer mortality and quantitative oil production in the Amazon region of Ecuador, 1990–2010 Suresh H. Moolgavkar1 , Ellen T. Chang1, Heather Watson2 and Edmund C. Lau1 Abstract Purpose Controversy persists over whether cancer risk is increased in communities surrounding oil fields, especially in the Oriente region of Ecuador. This ecologic study uses quantitative exposure data, […]

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Sullana Peru: Gang of Gasoline Smugglers Detained with 800 gallons from Ecuador

elcomercio.pe reported more than 800 illegal gallons of oil were seized once members of a same family were operated in their attempt to enter the city of Sullana transporting fuel from Ecuador. The family, dedicated to the smuggling, was part of the band “Los Menas” and was intercepted when it crossed the bridge Isaiah Garrido, […]

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China, Costa Rica planned oil alliance

ipsnews.net reported China’s plan to become Costa Rica’s main energy ally through the joint reconstruction of an oil refinery has been revived after the presidents of the two countries agreed to review the conditions of the project during a meeting in the Brazilian capital. The two countries initially signed a framework accord in 2008, including […]

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Ecuador, Peru to begin study of potential oil development in Amazon

lahora.com.ec reported the Governments of Ecuador and Peru will hire a study to determine the potential development of an oil-border area in the Amazon, the Ecuadorian Ministry of non-renewable natural resources said yesterday. The announcement was made as part of ‘Binational workshop’ which brings together since yesterday Thursday to energy authorities of the two countries […]

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China plans on becoming Costa Rica’s energy ally

ipsnews.net reported China’s plan to become Costa Rica’s main energy ally through the joint reconstruction of an oil refinery has been revived after the presidents of the two countries agreed to review the conditions of the project during a meeting in the Brazilian capital. The two countries initially signed a framework accord in 2008, including […]

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Ecuador: Experts state little margin for error in bio-diverse region set for oil development

laht.com reported Ecuador’s controversial plans to develop oil fields in the Amazon jungle can be successfully brought to fruition but there is little margin for error in that bio-diverse region, according to experts taking part in an international forum in this capital. They reached that conclusion at the “Applying the Best Technologies in Extremely Sensitive […]

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Bioenergy Production Analysis in Ecuador

Christian Parra M. Gabriel Barriga B. Ricardo Narváez Abstract This paper describes the current state of bioenergy production in Ecuador, its present distribution among areas, present projects, and the current legal framework focusing on the evolution of each sector. It is analyzed the future development in function of energy subsides and current incentives for renewable […]

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Venezuela Signs Oil, Mineral deals with China

bbc.com reported Chinese President Xi Jinping has signed a series of oil and mineral deals with Venezuela. They include a $4bn (£2.34bn) credit line in return for Venezuelan crude and other products. The agreements came on the latest stop of a four-country visit to Latin America. Read Article

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Former Minister believes Ecuador will not be able to sustain rate of growth in public investment

Elpais.com reported 0il has underpinned the economy of Ecuador since the 1970s. Of every 100 dollars entering the country export 60 correspond to this hydrocarbon. In the seven years leading Rafael Correa as head of State, barrel has quoted between 80 and nearly 100 dollars, surpassing expectations. Even so, the country has had to borrow […]

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Latin America: Proven Oil Reserves in Region to run out by 2067

olade.orgThe company said in a recent study that the proven oil reserves of the planet added 1.68 billion barrels and current production rates to last only that long. Future discoveries extend production achieved only about 10 or 15 years. Venezuela most 316,000 million barrels takes under his belt, beating Saudi Arabia, by far the largest […]

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Colombia: Bicentenario Oil Pipeline Attacked by Leftist Rebels

Rueters com reported Pumping of oil from one of Colombia’s ‎most important pipelines, the Bicentenario, was paralyzed after an attack by leftist rebels, its operator said on Saturday. The attack took place on Friday near the municipality of Fortul, in Arauca province, on the border with Venezuela. There were no injuries. pipeline, jointly run by […]

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Sucumbios Ecuador: After oil spill, 10 communities without access to water

Petroamazonas and municipal governments in the province of Sucumbíos I be delivered from Monday a thousand food rations for 10 communities affected by the spill of oil that polluted the rivers Parahuaico and Aguarico Wednesday, reported on its website El Comercio. About 2,000 barrels of oil spilled last Wednesday due to a landslide that common […]

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Ecuador: Nearly 2000 barrels of oil spilled into Amazon rainforest, result of landslide

larepublica.ec reported around 2,000 barrels of oil they poured in the Amazon rain forest, and one part became two rivers of the sector, after a landslide in a nearby road to common a secondary pipeline, reported on Wednesday the State-owned Petroecuador. In a statement stressed that the fact occurred on Tuesday night in a secondary […]

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Documents Indicate major gap in Ecuador’s plan regarding Oil Drilling in Yasuni

tHEGUARDIAN.COM REPORTED…Ecuador planned power plant in Yasuni national park, documents show Government appeared to be preparing plans at the same time as pursuing a high-profile scheme not to exploit the oil Government appeared to be preparing plans at the same time as pursuing a high-profile scheme not to exploit the oil. Ecuador’s government was moving […]

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Mexico: Oil Shale Game Faces Many Obstacles Besides Security

reuters.com reported…To grasp the difficulties Mexico faces in capitalizing on a North American shale boom, just wander into the dusty landscape due south of the U.S. border. On one side of the fence, thousands of wells work around the clock in Texas to produce record volumes of shale oil and gas, transforming towns like Carrizo […]

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Ecuador Oil Spill Update: tanker loadings, oil exports continue

platts.com reporte that tanker loadings and oil exports at Petroecuador’s Balao port terminal are continuing despite ongoing cleanup efforts in the aftermath of the crude spill discovered Tuesday, the company said Wednesday. Petroecuador said it has declared an emergency due to the spill, which will hasten cleanup efforts. The Balao terminal is near Esmeraldas on […]

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Esmeraldas Ecuador: Three Mile Oil Slick Due to Broken Pipeline at terminal

A spot about 3 miles de Dia de left in the mar de 250 to 300 barrels de fuel oil spill, said Captain Hernán Peñaherrera, jefe de Operaciones del command de operations North de Esmeraldas, while Petroecuador reported that it is crude light. This spill occurred by the break de a pipeline located in a […]

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Oil market Colombia: opportunities and risks

forbes.com reported…On June 15, Colombia holds a presidential election that could help end that country’s five-decade conflict with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). Yet that contest may not be the most closely watched by energy companies with an interest in Colombia. On July 23, the Ronda Colombia 2014 will auction off 101 oil […]

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Colombia: Bomb attack by leftist guerrillas shuts down key oil pipeline

reuters.com reported a bomb attack blamed on Colombia’s leftist guerrillas has shut down the key Cano Limon-Covenas oil pipeline, a source at state-run oil company Ecopetrol which owns the pipeline, said on Thursday. The explosion took place on a stretch of the 780-km (485-mile) pipeline in Norte de Santander province which borders Venezuela, the source […]

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Chevron believes Twitter hijack stems from plot involving Ecuador

adweek.com reported… Chevron believes that last week’s Twitter hijack against the brand from activist group Toxic Effect is actually part of a more elaborate plot involving the Republic of Ecuador, Adweek has learned. On May 28, Toxic Effect—a self-proclaimed environmental group in Latin America—bought the Promoted Trend #AskChevron on Twitter to protest the oil company’s […]

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U.S.: Two Ecuadorians ejected from Petroleum Museum, in Texas

theecologist.org reported two indigenous representatives from the Ecuadorian Amazon travelled to the Permian Basin Petroleum Museum in Midland, Texas to present a gift – poster-sized photographs of rainforest contaminated by oil spills and debris. Humberto Piaguaje and Robinson Yumbo, from the Secoya and Cofan nations, offered their donation to the museum’s executive director, Kathy Shannon. […]

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Mayor from U.S. questioned on failure to report gift from Ecuador’s government

richmondstandard.com reported… When Richmond Mayor Gayle McLaughlin returned from a six-day excursion through Ecuador to tour sites of environmental devastation in September, she told the media she benefited from a broadened perspective and steeled resolve to continue her struggle against big oil, including her city’s biggest taxpayer, Chevron’s Richmond refinery. She also said the trip […]

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Ecuador issues environmental permit to drill for oil in Yasuni

washingtonpost.com/ap reported earlier this month, Ecuador’s electoral council declared invalid a petition drive seeking to prevent drilling in the 6,500-square-mile Amazon reserve. Environment Minister Lorena Tapia said on state television that with Thursday’s signing of the permit camps and access roads can now be built. Production could begin as early as 2016. Read Article

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Ecuador: Yasunidos file appeal in denial of referendum on oil drilling

WSJ.COM REPORTED…A coalition trying to halt oil drilling in one of Ecuador’s most environmentally sensitive spots submitted an appeal Wednesday to force a referendum on the future of the area. The YasUnidos coalition submitted the appeal after Ecuador’s electoral council rejected a request for a referendum on whether to drill in the Ishpingo-Tambococha-Tiputini, or ITT, […]

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Law Firm / Chevron reach settlement in Ecuador oil case

Washingtopost.com reported…Chevron and Patton Boggs have settled disputes linked to long-running litigation over toxic drilling waste pits in Ecuador by Patton Boggs agreeing to pay Chevron $15 million, issue a statement of regret and withdraw from the Ecuador case. Chevron agreed to release all claims against Patton Boggs and its partners. THINKING OF MOVING TO […]

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Ecuador: Environmentalists claim enough signatures to force referendum to drill or not inYasuni

bbc.com reported that environmentalists in Ecuador say they have collected enough signatures to have a referendum on whether the Yasuni National Park in the Amazon should be opened to further oil exploration. They said 727,947 people had signed their petition to have a vote – more than required by Ecuadorian law. President Rafael Correa has […]

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Ecuador: Deadline looming for required signatures to force referendum regarding Yasuni

The question, “Do you agree that the Ecuadorean government should keep the crude in the ITT, known as block 43, underground indefinitely?” The collection of signatures is being led by Yasunidos, a newly formed alliance of groups seeking to overturn Correa’s abandonment of the Yasuní-ITT Initiative. Some polls suggest that general support for protecting the […]

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Ecuador: Lawyer representing farmers in case against Chevron receives death threats

theguardian.com reported that the Ecuadorian lawyer representing small farmers trying to force Chevron to pay damages for pollution in the Amazon rainforest says he has received death threats. “People are constantly following us in Ecuador,” said lawyer Juan Pablo Saenz, who told the Guardian he has received two anonymous death threats by phone. “They said […]

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Ecuador: Fuel Subsidies Increase 60 Percent for January 2014

The Wall Street Journal reported that Ecuador’s expenditures for fuel subsidies reached $394 million dollars for the month of January 2014. These subsidies include high-octane naphtha, cooking, and diesel fuels. This is an increase of 60% over the expenditures for the same time period in 2013. The country also imported nearly $600 million dollars of […]

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Oil drilling analysis of Ecuador: to drill or not to drill?

Michigan Journal of Environmental & Administrative Law reported: Ecuador faces a dilemma that troubles many environmentally conscious countries: to drill or not to drill. It all starts at Yasuní National Park, one of the most biologically diverse places on earth. Yasuní is rich in amphibians, reptiles, invertebrates, trees – you name it, Yasuní has it. […]

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Ten Reasons why U.S.Court ruled that Chevron should not pay billions in Ecuador case

breitbart.com reported….Here are are the reasons why the court ruling by a US federal judge that Chevron should not have to pay $9.5 billion in damages to victims of oil pollution in Ecuador is a victory for common sense and justice which we should all be celebrating. 1. It’s not about David v Goliath. Though, […]

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