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Wednesday, 07 January, 2009, 19:20 GMT | more >>

Ecuador begins contracts review



By Upstream staff 

Ecuador has started to examine its oil agreements to determine if private companies have breached their contracts, the energy minister Alberto Acosta said.

"A committee will look into all contracts. It will review all we need to review and we are seeking transparency," Acosta told Reuters.

The nine-member committee of energy officials and experts will draft a report of their findings for authorities to pinpoint any irregularities and impose sanctions, a committee member said.

The committee is examining exploration and development contracts that are mostly in the hands of foreign oil companies such as Brazil's Petrobras and Spain's Repsol .

President Rafael Correa, a leftist former economy minister, has pledged to rework oil contracts to increase the volume of oil received by the state.

However, Acosta did not specify if the contracts review could lead to a renegotiation of deals.

The committee has no deadline to release its results.

"We are only doing the technical work, but the energy minister will determine any possible sanctions," Alberto Segovia, a committee member, told Reuters.

Influential indigenous and peasants groups have repeatedly accused companies of breaching their contracts by overlooking environmental and economic requirements.

"They can investigate and then realize how good we actually are," said Rene Ortiz, head of a group that represents private oil companies.

Ecuador produces about 530,000 barrels of oil per day, of which nearly half is pumped out by private firms.


Thursday, 07 June, 2007, 00:59 GMT  | last updated: Thursday, 07 June, 2007, 01:51 GMT

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