There is controversy over the appointment of Jaime Pinos Manzano as attorney for the state oil company, for his role in the Ivanhoe case and in oil contracts
The new manager of Petroecuador, Ítalo Cedeño, assembles his work team to direct the state company, surrounded by a series of oil experts who have already been in the public and private sector. He has met several of them throughout his career. 40 years in the industry and since they shared classrooms at the Escuela Superior Politécnica del Litoral (Espol).
At the moment, Two appointments have caused a stir within the company. The first: that of Jaime Pinos Manzano What new attorney for Petroecuador. This is a key position in the legal field of the company, especially at times when the company is going to seek concessions or sign contracts from joint venture with Petroecuador fields, as reported by Cedeño himself a few days ago.
Pinos already held the position of attorney for the state company in 2005. In 2007, during the government of Rafael Correa, Pinos was an advisor to the then Minister of Energy, Galo Chiriboga, and later he was the manager of the Ivanhoe company. This story was recorded in the news at the time. It was learned that Pinos had been part of a delegation of officials from Petroecuador and the Ministry who traveled to California (USA) to learn about the famous HTL technology that Ivanhoe sought to apply in Ecuador.
The trip had been paid for by the private company. Among those sent in that delegation were the then vice president of Petroecuador, Marco Calvopiña; the vice president of Petroproduccion, Pedro Freile; and the aforementioned Pinos Manzano. Then came the adjudication of the Pungarayaku field, in a rather targeted manner, to benefit Ivanhoe. However, the extraction of the extra heavy crude oil failed. However, Pinos ended up being the representative of the Ivanhoe company. From what is known, before moving to the private sector, it issued a favorable legal report for the signing of the Specific Services contract.
In 2010, as undersecretary of the administration of former Minister Germánico Pinto, he was part of the contract negotiations with private. However, he was dismissed, along with a group of technicians and contract negotiators, because then President Rafael Correa disliked how the negotiation was being carried out.
PreviouslyIn 2005, the Civic Control Commission Against Corruption (CCCC) determined guilty criminal and administrative liability against three executives of Petroecuador, among them Pinos, due to an issue of fuel imports and lack of budget.
Additionally, a few weeks ago, in the position of adviser to Cedeño, he was Alejandro Mosquera, who had been an advisor to Nielsen Arias, former manager of International Trade and responsible for signing long-term contracts with China. Both Arias and Mosquera were investigated by the Comptroller for their role in the contracts with the Asians. According to Petroecuador officials, this appointment caused rejection and a few days later he was separated.
On the subject, Assemblyman Fernando Villavicencio (Concertación), president of the Oversight Commission, rejected that these appointments have been made. About Pinos, he said that it is unpresentable that a contract has been made to the person presenting these credential letters for having been an advisor to Chiriboga and for his role in the Ivanhoe case.
This newspaper asked to talk with Jaime Pines Manzano to comment on the questions that exist, but there was no response.
Other management
Meanwhile, Cedeño has placed known and trusted people in other company units. The Transportation management is occupied by Washington Gallegos, former Undersecretary of Hydrocarbons and Vice President of Petrocomercial in 2005. in management of National Marketing is Stalin Salgado, who was director of Hydrocarbons in 2006. In the Refining management is Ricardo Xavier Villalba Granda and in the Exploration and Production Division there is, at the moment, Santiago León Carrasco, who worked at Petroamazonas as Asset Manager. as head of International Trade follows Pablo Noboa, who has held that position since the previous government.
Henry Llanes, an oil expert, considered that the appointments in general have fallen to people who know the industry. He said he personally knows Salgado and Gallegos, who are longtime oil experts. (I)
Paul is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment and general news. He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established herself as a respected voice in the industry.
