Petroecuador
Petroecuador ( Empresa Estatal Petróleos del Ecuador = "State Oil Company of Ecuador ") is an Ecuadorian state company that was founded on September 26, 1989 and is responsible for the exploitation of oil and natural gas reserves. The state undertakes the exploration and use of the reservoirs in the national territory and the associated waters directly through Petroecuador or through contracts with third parties.
Petroecuador is the successor organization of the CEPE ( Corporación Estatal Petrolera Ecuatoriana = "State Ecuadorian Oil Corporation"), when it was founded on June 23, 1972, the state took over all activities related to the exploration, production and sale of oil and natural gas . The company Anglo-Ecuadorian Oilfields , which operated a refinery in La Libertad (Santa Elena province) and produced crude oil near the city of Ancón , was also swallowed .
Petroecuador consists of three sub-companies with different areas of responsibility:
- Petroproducción: exploration and extraction of oil and gas
- Petro-industrial: refining petroleum
- Petrocomercial: transportation and marketing of refined products on the domestic market
The company is entrusted with the management and use of the tranquadorian pipeline network SOTE (built in 1972 by Texaco -Gulf).
Refineries
Petroecuador owns three petroleum refineries in Ecuador:
- Esmeraldas , 110,000 bbl. /Day
- La Libertad , 45,000 bbl. / Day (= 7,200 m³ / day)
- Shushufindi, 20,000 bbl. / Day (= 3,200 m³ / day)
Capacity is expected to increase due to increasing demand in Ecuador and the United States . (Ecuador is the second largest South American exporter of petroleum products to the US).
criticism
Petroecuador has been at the center of controversy over the impact of prospecting and pipeline operations on the environment and the indigenous people ( Huaorani and Cofán ) in the Amazon basin in eastern Ecuador, where drilling is taking place in rainforest that was previously road-free. Stakeholders like Amazon Watch and ChevronToxico have tried to document oil pollution, environmental damage, and human impact.
In response to these reports, a class action lawsuit was filed against ChevronTexaco for involvement in these US operations . A court ruled that the case should be heard in Ecuador. In 2003, a new lawsuit was filed in Ecuador, which is currently being heard in the Ecuadorian courts. In March 2007, Chevron stated that it did not want to settle the dispute.