Page 13 - LatAmOil Week 16 2022
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LatAmOil                                           PERU                                            LatAmOil



                         Profonanpe is expected to compile a list of all   Thomas, USAID’s director in Peru.
                         animal species and habitats that are believed to   Thomas also mentioned that the US grant
                         have been affected by the oil spill.  to Peru reinforces the nation’s intention to col-
                           Beyond the protection of wildlife affected   laborate with Peru in an effort to overcome this
                         by the oil spill, the co-operating bodies are also   emergency and prevent crises of this nature in
                         expected to prepare a range of assessments   the future.
                         aimed at understanding the larger environmen-  Anton Willems, the CEO of Profonanpe,
                         tal impacts that one such oil spill will have as well   expressed his satisfaction with the donation,
                         as prepare a contingency plan to handle future   explaining that his organisation’s co-operation
                         disasters, should they arise.        with USAID would advance efforts to improve
                           “With the support of USAID, highly special-  emergency response to oil spills.
                         ised teams from the US Coast Guard and the   The grant will help “generate data to help
                         National Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric   public and private institutions make decisions
                         Administration (NOAA) provided technical   based on evidence and be able to take the appro-
                         assistance in emergency preparedness, plan-  priate actions in similar situations that arise,”
                         ning, response and recovery activities,” said Jene   Willems remarked. ™



                                                       ECUADOR
       CNPC brings its first development well



       on stream at Ecuador’s Ishpingo oilfield






                         THE government of Ecuador reported last week   of Ecuador’s proven oil reserves, and the coun-
                         that a subsidiary of China National Petroleum   try’s government is eager to boost output there.
                         Corp. (CNPC) had brought Ishpingo, one of the   The CNPC contract is expected to contribute
                         three oilfields within the ITT block near the Yas-  to Ecuador’s efforts to ramp oil production up
                         uni National Park, on stream.        to 495,000 bpd this year, a significant increase
                           In a statement, the government reported   on the 2021 figure of 477,300 bpd. It will do so
                         President Guillermo Lasso had attended a cer-  partly through the drilling of another 36 wells at
                         emony marking the launch of production by   the Ishpingo oilfield.
                         CNPC Chuanqing Drilling Engineering Co. at   Ecuador’s government has not yet said
                         Tower 66 at Platform A, the first active develop-  whether it will be able to lift a prohibition on
                         ment well at Ishpingo. It noted that the well was   the extension of the Ishpingo licence. If it suc-
                         now yielding about 3,600 barrels per day (bpd)   ceeds in this endeavour, as it said it hoped to
                         and would generate revenues of around $60mn   do when it announced the award of the drill-
                         per year for Ecuador if production remained at   ing contract to CNPC in February, it will be
                         this rate.                           able to install an additional seven onshore
                           Quito intends to spend these revenues on   production platforms. This feat, in turn, could
                         “improvements to the education, health and   bring production levels up by 150,000 bpd. ™
                         safety system,” it added. These investments, in
                         turn, will help create jobs and improve the busi-
                         ness climate, Lasso commented. He also pledged
                         to use the proceeds of the project to fund the
                         government’s Chronic Childhood Malnutrition
                         Programme.
                           Ecuadorean authorities awarded the drilling
                         contract to the CNPC subsidiary in late Febru-
                         ary of this year.
                           The decision has drawn some criticism, as the
                         ITT block, which also encompasses the Tiputini
                         and Tambococha fields, is home to areas notable
                         for their biodiversity and for their status as home
                         to some of the world’s last uncontacted indige-
                         nous communities.
                           Nevertheless, the block contains 458mn
                         barrels of heavy crude with a specific gravity of
                         14.5 degrees API, equivalent to more than 40%   Ishpingo is a field within the onshore ITT block (Image: Amazon Watch)




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