Ecuador will increase the number of oil and gas areas it plans to offer in an auction next month by including mature crude fields and an offshore gas field, oil minister Carlos Perez told Reuters on Tuesday. Many Latin American countries are trying to improve their offerings and contract rules to secure foreign investment amid intense regional competitions this year, with major auctions expected in Mexico, Brazil and Uruguay.
The minister said the Amistad gas field in the Guayaquil Gulf will be added to the Ecuadorian auction, along with at least four mature or small onshore oil blocks that will be developed under service contracts with state-run oil company Petroamazonas. "Our goal is to attract investment and also look for an increase in production and reserves in the future," Perez told Reuters in an interview before a public event to review the country's main oil achievements last year.
Amistad is the country's only gas producing field with an output of 39 million cubic feet per day from six active wells, according to official figures. The government has not yet decided the contract model for that area as new legislation for the gas industry is needed, Perez said.
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