The Ecuadorean Government expects to secure over $638 million in investment commitments this year through contract extensions with private oil companies to boost national production, Deputy Minister of Hydrocarbons Eduardo Racines said on Friday.
Ecuador has been negotiating with private firms to modify 20-year contracts, extending terms by up to a decade while setting new investment and production targets.
"As a result of these contracts, at least $638 million in investment will be committed this year," Racines told Reuters in an interview.
The first extension was signed in 2024 with China's Andes Petroleum, and five more are expected to be finalised this year, Racines added.
The Andean nation projects average oil production of 465,000 barrels per day (bpd) in 2026, an increase of 29,000 bpd over 2025. Production last year was hampered by a rupture in the state-owned SOTE pipeline caused by regressive erosion in the Amazon rainforest.
Racines said production should continue to grow through 2028, supported by upcoming bidding rounds for oil and natural gas blocks.
An international tender is planned for year-end for up to 15 marginal blocks currently operated by state-owned Petroecuador.
Additionally, the government hopes to finalise a direct negotiation with a foreign state-owned company to operate approximately 11 offshore blocks along the coast between Esmeraldas and Guayas provinces. If no agreement is reached, an international tender will be launched next year, he added.
Other government priorities include legal reforms to allow private companies to operate producing fields and expediting five of 18 pending environmental licenses. Those licenses are critical to exploration and exploitation efforts aimed at producing some 130,000 bpd, the deputy minister said.
(Reporting by Alexandra Valencia)
