31-07-08 State-owned PetroEcuador plans to create a joint venture with Chilean state energy company Enap to explore for natural gas in the Gulf of Guayaquil, Ecuadorian Mines and Oil Minister Galo Chiriboga said.
The PetroEcuador board "has accepted the proposal to form a new joint economic enterprise" with Enap, Chiriboga said.

The minister said the new company would allow the partners to "move ahead with gas exploration in the Gulf of Guayaquil," which is located in south-western Ecuador and is believed to hold large reserves of the fuel. The Ecuadorian government is looking to natural gas as a future energy source that will allow the Andean nation to shift its fuel mix away from gasoline, Chiriboga said.
PetroEcuador also plans to form a joint venture with Venezuelan state-owned oil giant PdVSA to explore for natural gas in a different area of the Gulf of Guayaquil.

Chiriboga said Enap and PetroEcuador planned to explore for gas in the gulf's Block 40, while exploration and production operations with PdVSA would focus on Block 5.
PetroEcuador expects to control majority stakes in the joint ventures, but the share structure of the deal with Enap "is still under discussion," the minister said.