Oil production begins to gradually rise, after the return of pumping in OCP and SOTE between December 31 and January 1

Oil production begins to recover in Ecuador after overcoming the problems of suspension of the pumping of the three main pipelines due to the regressive erosion of the Coca River and its tributaries (Quijos and Piedra Fina), in the Reventador sector, which occurred at the end of 2021. Since December 8, the Heavy Crude Oil Pipeline (OCP), and since December 10, the Trans-Ecuadorian Pipeline System Petroecuador’s (SOTE) suspended activities. OCP resumed pumping on December 31, 2021 and SOTE on January 1, 2022.

The production of Petroecuador this January 2 had risen to 111,604 barrels. A figure that represents a little less than double what it was producing on January 1 and that was 57,133 barrels per day. However, it represents only 29.40% of the production target, which is 379,630 barrels per day. The Energy Regulation and Control Agency does not yet have data on production in private companies.

Petroecuador reported that since pumping was resumed, around 662,000 barrels of Oriente crude have been transported (a large part of the volume that was stored) and oil has been distributed to the Esmeraldas and La Libertad refineries to gradually resume their activities, as well as to the Balao Terminal to continue with oil exports. Petroecuador reported that the increase in production will be gradual and that between today and tomorrow it should increase by a greater percentage, because some wells are already operating.

Meanwhile the Heavy Crude Oil Pipeline (OCP), In private hands, it is also increasing its volume of transportation of crude from private companies and from Petroecuador itself. The company explained a few minutes ago that it is currently transporting 150,000 barrels on average (that is, they returned to the usual average), however, it calculates that in the next few hours the transport volume will increase in order to empty the Sucumbíos tanks and have the highest possible reception capacity at Terminal Amazonas. OCP Ecuador began with the reception of crude in Lago Agrio as of January 1 and They are preparing for the export of a shipment of Napo crude through its Maritime Terminal in Esmeraldas, this January 3.

At 9:00 p.m. January 1, 2022, the pumping activities of clean products and liquefied petroleum gas, LPG, were resumed through the Shushufindi-Quito Poliducto, once the construction work on the fifth variant of this infrastructure was completed, in the San Luis sector, Napo province.

The variant of the pipeline has an extension of 2.7 km, located on the slopes of the Reventador volcano and allows moving away more than 400 meters from the zone of lateral erosion of the Quijos river, which accelerated in recent weeks in the area of ​​the Piedra tributary Fine.

The Shushufindi-Quito pipeline transports around 9,600 barrels of LPG per day and base gasoline, from Shushufindi, in Sucumbíos province, to the Oyambaro and Beaterio terminals in Pichincha.

During the final construction phase of the variant, more than 200 technicians from EP Petroecuador and the Army Corps of Engineers carried out highly complex works under international standards to carry out the construction of the 6-inch diameter pipe (similar to the original mechanical design ), in the section affected by the phenomenon of regressive and lateral erosion.

Despite the declaration of force majeure that led to the closure of wells, Petroecuador’s oil production at the end of 2021 ended in 377,088 barrels per day, which is 94.17% of the planned goal of 400,349 barrels per day. (I)