By Shane Romig, Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
SANTA CRUZ, Bolivia -(Dow Jones)- Ecuador expects to wrap up deals for oil extraction at four mature oil fields in two or thee months, an adviser to Ecuador's nonrenewable resources ministry told Dow Jones Newswires Friday.
The contracts should be signed in July or August, said Miguel Naranjo, who is a member of Ecuador's contract negotiating committee, on the sidelines of an oil and gas conference in Santa Cruz.
At the end of March, Ecuador's state oil company Petroecuador said it had received 11 offers from nine firms for contracts to improve and recover production at mature oil fields.
According to the nonrenewable resources ministry, Halliburton Co. (HAL), Switzerland-based Weatherford International Ltd. (WFT), Baker Hughes Inc. (BHI), Russia's Bakrie Kalila, Schlumberger Ltd. (SLB) and China Petrochemical Corp ( Sinopec Group) were among the companies that submitted offers. Petroecuador expects to receive investment of about $1.5 billion.
Last year Petroecuador called on private companies interested in service contracts to boost production at Shushufindi, Libertador, Auca, Lago Agrio and Cuyabeno, which currently produce an average of 150,000 barrels of oil a day, about 30% of Ecuador's national output.
Lago Agrio received no offer.
In January, Ecuador's government concluded almost three years of negotiations aimed at gaining more control over its natural resources and increasing its oil revenue by replacing production-sharing deals with services contracts.
The services contracts turn the companies into service providers for the exploration and extraction of hydrocarbons. Companies will receive a fee rather than sharing profits.
The new contracts will involve the companies receiving a flat fee of $32 per barrel, regardless of fluctuations of international prices, Naranjo said. The price paid will only change based in inflation, he added.
-By Shane Romig, Dow Jones Newswires; +5411 4103-6738; shane.romig@ dowjones.com
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