On October 19, the Ministry of Energy, through the assistant of the Ministry of Hydrocarbons and Legal Coordination, issued a statement on the expiration of the Agreement on Amendments to the Agreement on the Provision of Hydrocarbon Exploration and Exploitation Services in Block 45, which was concluded with Consorcio Pegaso (Puma Oriente Field) from 2011. The reason for the expiration was is that the contract company has suspended research activities since June 2020.

The ministry indicated that as part of this resolution, the immediate return of the contract area to the state of Ecuador and the delivery of all equipment, tools, machinery, updated technical data and other elements was ordered. As well as industrial or transport and marketing facilities and other acquired furniture and real estate.

He also indicated that this block will be considered for future bidding rounds, with the aim of increasing direct investment and sustainably increasing oil production.

Meanwhile, Oswaldo Vladimir Arostegui Ponce, the general lawyer of the company Campo Puma Oriente SA, which is part of the consortium, presented on October 27 a Constitutional Lawsuit for Protection with Precautionary Measures, which was accepted for processing by the judge of the canton of Rumiñahui.

Therefore, the aforementioned judicial unit invited the parties to a public hearing to be held on November 10, 2023 at 09:00 a.m. in the hearing room of the civil judicial unit of Rumiñahui Canton, (Av. General Rumiñahui and Isla Baltra, Ponce building). Furthermore, the judge ordered precautionary measures in such a way that he marked the effect of the administrative act adopted by Decision N. MEM-DPL-2023-0047-RM of October 19, 2023, which declares the termination of the Agreement.

In this sense, the State Portfolio appealed to the competent entities to comply with the prescribed procedure, in case of possible legal actions or protective measures that could arise from the Expiration Statement.