27-07-08 Ecuador and Venezuela will make joint efforts to increase the output of the Sacha oil field from 40,000 barrels to 70,000 bpd, Ecuador's state oil company PetroEcuador said.
The two countries will sign a 25-year contract to form a joint venture company titled "Rio Napo" with the aim to "optimize" the management of Sacha, said Jose Ziritt, representative of Ecuadoran President Rafael Correa.

PetroEcuador will hold 70 % of the new company's shares, while Venezuela's state oil giant PdVSA, 30 %, according to PetroEcuador.
Jose Sanchez, an advisor to Ecuadoran Minister of Mines and Petroleum Galo Chiriboga, said cooperation with the PdVSA was due to the Venezuelan company's technological advantages needed to boost the oil extraction.

The Sacha field, located in Ecuador's Amazonian jungle, has oil reserves of 480 mm barrels.