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Ecuador to Sign Oil-Refinery Financing Deal With China

After about three years of negotiations, the government of Ecuador is preparing to sign a financing deal with China, valued at about $7 billion, to finance a new oil refinery known as the Refineria del Pacifico, an official said. The $10 billion refinery will process 200,000 barrels of crude oil a day. Thirty percent of the funds needed will come from the project’s partners and the remaining 70% will be financed by a group of Chinese banks headed by the Ltd. An official close to the deal, who asked not to be named, said Friday that the government of Ecuador will sign the financing deal, the first tranche of which will consist of about $2.5 billion and will be disbursed soon. The official said a high-level delegation of officials from China have been finalizing details in Quito, and President Rafael Correa will announce the deal Saturday during his […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Ecuador Says No National Referendum on New Amazon Oil Development

Ecuador’s national electoral council said Tuesday that opponents of new oil development in a national park in the Amazon rain forest failed to submit enough valid signatures to force a nationwide referendum. The electoral council said that only 359,761 signatures of the 756,000 that were submitted by a coalition opposed to the oil activity passed the validation process. The law required them to collect 584,000 signatures, which is equivalent to 5% of the electorate, to force a referendum on the issue. The announcement appears to be a victory for President Rafael Correa and his plans to drill for oil in an area known as the Ishpingo-Tambococha-Tiputini, or the ITT block. A portion of the block is located in the Yasuni national park, which is considered by scientists to be one of the most biologically diverse spots in the world. The president of the electoral council, Domingo […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Ecuador January Crude-Oil Export Revenues Down 10% on Month to $1.06 Billion

Ecuador’s crude-oil export revenues totaled $1.06 billion in January, down 10% from December, the central bank said Wednesday. In terms of volume, Ecuador exported 11.57 million barrels of crude oil in January, a 12% decrease from the previous month. Crude oil is Ecuador’s main export, which the Andean country sends primarily to Asia, the U.S. and the Caribbean. The average price of crude oil in January increased 1% to $91.40 a barrel from the previous month. All of the oil was exported by Ecuador’s state-owned companies. The central bank also said Ecuador produced 17.05 million barrels of crude oil in January. Petroecuador, Petroamazonas and Rio Napo, the three state-run oil companies, produced 13.21 million barrels in January, while private companies produced the remainder. According to official projections, Ecuador could produce about 741,000 barrels of crude oil per day by 2019. Reaching this goal will require investments […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Ruling Gives Oil Giant Boost in Fight Against $9.5 Billion Ecuadorean Judgment

A federal judge ruled that a record $9.5 billion environmental-damage award against Chevron Corp. was tainted by the misdeeds of a lawyer leading the lawsuit, giving the oil giant a boost in its battle against a global effort to seize its assets. In the latest twist in one of the longest-running legal battles in corporate history, U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan found that New York lawyer Steven Donziger and his litigation team engaged in coercion, bribery, money laundering and other misconduct aimed at securing a 2011 verdict against the company in Ecuador. The judge’s decision bars Mr. Donziger and his two Ecuadorean co-defendants from profiting from the award and excoriates the plaintiffs’ attorney, who has spent the bulk of his legal career pursuing the case. The judge concluded that Mr. Donziger and his team fabricated evidence, promised $500,000 to an Ecuadorean judge to rule in their favor, ghostwrote much […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Ecuador 2013 Crude Output Rises 4% on Year to 526,000 Barrels a Day

By Mercedes Alvaro QUITO–Ecuador’s average oil output rose 4% to 526,000 barrels a day last year, from 504,000 barrels a day the same period a year before, the central bank said. Petroecuador, Petroamazonas and Rio Napo, the three state-run oil companies, accounted for 75% of Ecuador’s crude oil production in the period. The country’s total oil production last year was 192 million barrels. Ecuador’s crude-oil output in December increased about 9% from the one year earlier to an average of 548,000 barrels per day. Oil is Ecuador’s main export and the government’s main revenue earner. According to official projections, Ecuador could produce about 741,000 barrels of crude oil per day by 2019. Reaching this goal will require investments of about $5.5 billion per year over the next five years. Last August, President Rafael Correa announced that his government will go ahead with the development of the Ishpingo-Tambococha-Tiputini oil field, […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Ecuador, China advance refinery plans

China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC) and the Ecuadorean government have reached an agreement regarding cooperation in a plan to construct a long-delayed refinery on Ecuador’s Pacific Coast ( OGJ Online, Feb. 4, 2008 ). On Jan. 21, Ecuador’s Vice-President Jorge Glas and CNCP Chairman Zhou Jiping reached a joint-approval of the feasibility report for the Refineria del Pacifico (RDP), according to a release from Ecuador’s government. During a second meeting on Jan. 23, Glas further solidified the deal with representatives of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, who expressed an interest in handling financing for CNPC in the refinery project , Glas said. This latest arrangement, for which no official financial details have been disclosed, follows the signing of June 2013 of a framework agreement between Ecuador and CNCPC on integrated cooperation in developing RDP. While no firm timetable was available regarding final funding for RDP, once realized, the […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Ecuadoreans Can Attempt to Seize Chevron's Canada Assets

Ecuadoreans trying to collect a $9.5 billion environmental verdict against Chevron Corp. can attempt to seize the oil giant’s assets in Canada, a Canadian appellate court ruled on Tuesday. The plaintiffs, residents of Ecuador’s jungles, are seeking to enforce a 2011 judgment against Chevron by confiscating its properties in other countries where it operates. In May, a lower court in Ontario held that the Ecuadorean judgment didn’t […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Ecuadoreans Can Attempt to Seize Chevron’s Canada Assets

Ecuadoreans trying to collect a $9.5 billion environmental verdict against Chevron Corp. can attempt to seize the oil giant’s assets in Canada, a Canadian appellate court ruled on Tuesday. The plaintiffs, residents of Ecuador’s jungles, are seeking to enforce a 2011 judgment against Chevron by confiscating its properties in other countries where it operates. In May, a lower court in Ontario held that the Ecuadorean judgment didn’t […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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How China took control of an OPEC country's oil

China’s aggressive quest for foreign oil has reached a new milestone, according to records reviewed by Reuters: near monopoly control of crude exports from an OPEC nation, Ecuador. Last November, Marco Calvopiña, the general manager of Ecuador’s state oil company PetroEcuador, was dispatched to China to help secure $2 billion in financing for his government. Negotiations, which included committing to sell millions of barrels of Ecuador’s oil to Chinese state-run firms through 2020, dragged on for days. Calvopiña grew anxious and threatened to leave. "If the Phase III transaction documents are not signed in the coming days, then I cannot remain in Beijing," he wrote in a confidential letter to China Development Bank (CDB), reviewed by Reuters. In reality, Calvopiña had little choice but to wait. Shunned by most lenders since a $3.2 billion debt default in 2008, Ecuador now relies heavily on Chinese funds, […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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How China took control of an OPEC country’s oil

China’s aggressive quest for foreign oil has reached a new milestone, according to records reviewed by Reuters: near monopoly control of crude exports from an OPEC nation, Ecuador. Last November, Marco Calvopiña, the general manager of Ecuador’s state oil company PetroEcuador, was dispatched to China to help secure $2 billion in financing for his government. Negotiations, which included committing to sell millions of barrels of Ecuador’s oil to Chinese state-run firms through 2020, dragged on for days. Calvopiña grew anxious and threatened to leave. "If the Phase III transaction documents are not signed in the coming days, then I cannot remain in Beijing," he wrote in a confidential letter to China Development Bank (CDB), reviewed by Reuters. In reality, Calvopiña had little choice but to wait. Shunned by most lenders since a $3.2 billion debt default in 2008, Ecuador now relies heavily on Chinese funds, […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple