EP Petroecuador (Empresa Estatal Petróleos del Ecuador; Empresa Pública Petroecuador; meaning: State Petroleum Company of Ecuador) is the national oil company of Ecuador. Ecuador who is a member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and, although it is the smallest member, the country produced 531,000 barrels of crude oil per day in 2019. The oil corporation is a significant part of the Ecuadorian economy. The petroleum industry has expanded to the production of refined commodities such as gasoline, liquefied petroleum, and jet fuel. The government of Ecuador is highly dependent on the revenues from the energy sector to support its budget and finance state projects.
History
Petroecuador is a state-owned enterprise, founded on September 26, 1989. In its conception, Petroecuador began as a fiscal agent; however, in time, it came to manage and operate most of the country's oil sector. It is the successor to Corporación Estatal Petrolera Ecuatoriana (CEPE) which was formed in 1972. In 1973 Ecuador granted Shell Oil drilling concessions. In 1964, Texaco was also invited. From 1977, Texaco became the majority owner (62.5%) until it transferred ownership back to the Ecuadorean state in 1992, maintaining a 37.5% ownership. The transfer of ownership was due to political policies within Ecuador limiting foreign ownership as well as the decision not to re-new the contracts.
Operations
Petroecuador is engaged in the exploration, production, storage, refining of crude oil, and retailing petroleum products. It operates through subsidiaries, such as Petroproduccion (exploration and production), Petroindustrial (refining), and Petrocomercial (transportation and marketing of refined products). The company operates several oil fields, including Shushufindi, Sacha, Auca, Lago Agrio, and Libertador. It also operates the Trans-Ecuadorian oil pipeline network, Sistema de Oleoducto Transecuatoriano (SOTE), built in 1972 for Texaco-Gulf. Ecuador is the fifth largest oil producer in the Latin American region.
Petroecuador owns three petroleum refineries in Ecuador: Esmeraldas Refinery, (began 1978) La Libertad Refinery, Shushufindi Refinery,
The Sector organization in 2012 was organized into the National Oil Companies (NOC's), Petroecuador, Petroamazonas and the Operaciones Rio Napo (which is jointly owned between Ecuador and Venezuela). The company's marketing network includes 148 Petrocomercial service stations.
The largest production of oil in Ecuador is concentrated in the Northeastern part of the province. The Ishpingo-Tambococha-Tiputini (ITT) in the Yasuni National Park is said to hold 909 million barrels of oil reserves, yet controversial social relations causes protests and political conflicts. The indigenous social relations regarding the oil production of Ecuador are facing controversial issues. The indigenous communities have suffered various consequences for the growing energy sector in Ecuador as it seeks to expand. The state policies have caused domestic conflicts among local communities were the indigenous territories and practices are overlooked in expense to the state economic benefits. In 2003 and in 2010, the protest escalated due to political campaigns urging privatization ( 2003) and expansionist policies enabling foreign corporations access to the market ( 2010)
As of August 2016, the company owns and operates an Embraer ERJ 145LR aircraft, which was delivered directly from Embraer in October 2008.
Safety record
Petroecuador has allegedly contributed to human rights violations according to some critics. The violations are on the health basis concerning the local populations due to bad practice of Petroecuador as well as foreign industries established within Ecuador.
On February 26, 1998 there was an explosion and fire at the Petroecuador pipeline in Esmeraldas, a port city in northwest Ecuador.