Page 13 - LatAmOil Week 46 2022

LatAmOil BRAZIL LatAmOil

As Argus Media reported last week, the state had never been given confirmation that its call
government did suggest that public consulta- for pushing the deadline out had even been
tions on the gas distribution regulations be held received.
from October 24 to November 8. Meanwhile, both producers and consumers
However, ABPIP and other industry groups are expressing concern about the possibility
say they have not been able to secure a hearing that Ceara’s gas regulation will create bureau-
with ARCE easily. They have also indicated that cratic hurdles for consumers who are looking
they believe the process is moving forward too to migrate from supply deals signed with pub-
rapidly, Argus said. lic-sector distribution companies to a bilateral
Several industry associations formally contract. As a result of such concerns, the large
requested on November 28 that ARCE order energy consumers’ association Abrace gave
the extension of the deadline for amendments Ceara’s proposed distribution regulations a
to the Ceara gas distribution law, it added. As score of 37 out of 100. This gives the state the
of press time, ARCE had not yet responded to 10th lowest score among Brazil’s 19 states, Argus
that request, and ABPIP said last week that it noted. ™

ARGENTINA
Echo Energy finishes upgrading workover

rig for use at Santa Cruz Sur upgrade

AIM-LISTED Echo Energy has announced that at least 30 new wells on stream to help increase
the upgrade of the workover rig being used at production rates at Santa Cruz Sur. Currently,
the Santa Cruz Sur collection of production con- the sites’ day-to-day performance is heavily reli-
cessions located in the onshore Austral Basin in ant on well interventions and upgrades, so the
southern Argentina has been completed. enhancement plan is expected to make a signif-
According to a company statement, the com- icant difference.
pletion of the upgrade serves to wrap up the The program also aims to re-open previously
first phase of the assets’ production and infra- operational wells and to drill three new wells
structure enhancement plan that the UK-based in order to initiate liquid production from the
company and its partners are carrying out at Chorillos field. This operation has already been
the concessions. The group’s next step will be to launched and is slated to take approximately
upgrade compressor capacity across the Santa three weeks to complete. ™
Cruz Sur assets.
The goal of these projects is to obtain the
optimal balance between maximising produc-
tion and cash flow, while also limiting disrup-
tions to production and finishing the upgrades
as quickly as possible, the statement said.
Production at the site has greatly improved
as a result of the successful implementation of
the first phase of the enhancement plan, Echo
noted. It reported that production rates at the
Santa Cruz sites had averaged 1,610 barrels of
oil equivalent per day (boepd) in October 2022,
the highest daily figure posted this year to date.
This figure also marks a 13% rise on the aver-
age recorded in the third fiscal quarter of 2022,
it added.
Additionally, it provided a breakdown of
the October 2022 output figure, saying that net
production had amounted to 7.7mn cubic feet
(218,100 cubic metres) per day of natural gas
and 325 barrels per day (bpd) of liquids. This is
the highest monthly figure posted this year and
is 27% above the January figure, it said.
The enhancement plan, which was initially
unveiled by Echo on July 7, 2022, aims to bring Generator installation at Santa Cruz Sur (Photo: Echo Energy)

Week 46 16•November•2022 www. NEWSBASE .com P13