PetroEcuador enters barter arrangement with Uruguay's ANCAP
State-owned Petroleos del Ecuador said it has signed a deal with Uruguayan state oil company ANCAP to exchange crude
for oil derivatives.
PetroEcuador, under the two-year deal signed by CEO Luis Jaramillo, will trade up to 360,000 barrels of crude per
month for diesel fuel and high-octane gasoline produced by ANCAP's refineries.
PetroEcuador's Jaramillo said this type of contract is a way to "position and boost the value of Ecuadorian crude in
the region".
"One of the strategies for the sale of Ecuadorian crude has been to establish alliances with Latin American countries
that need our oil, since by diversifying (export) markets we can compare prices and choose the best option,"
Jaramillo said. The CEO said these types of deals also facilitate "healthy competition" among the region's
state-owned oil companies.
Ecuador produces some 500,000 barrels of crude per day, but a lack of refining capacity leaves it unable to meet
domestic demand for oil derivatives. Ecuador has signed similar deals with the state-owned oil companies of Venezuela
and Chile -- Petroleos de Venezuela and Enap -- and is also evaluating the possibility of building a giant
petrochemical complex in the country's coastal region.
Construction of the so-called Refinery of the Pacific, to be built by PetroEcuador and Venezuela's PdVSA, with
additional Chinese investment, is scheduled to begin this year.
