OCP Ecuador begins building much-anticipated Ecuadorean pipeline

July 18, 2001
OCP Ecuador SA has begun building the $1.2 billion Oleoducto de Crudos Pesados (OCP) pipeline in Ecuador, said project partner Alberta Energy Co. Ltd. Techint International Construction Corp., Buenos Aires, has a fixed-price engineering, procurement, and construction contract to build the line.


By the OGJ Online Staff

HOUSTON, July 18 -- OCP Ecuador SA has begun building the $1.2 billion Oleoducto de Crudos Pesados (OCP) pipeline in Ecuador, said project partner Alberta Energy Co. Ltd.

Techint International Construction Corp., Buenos Aires, an affiliate of another OCP partner, Techint SA, has a fixed-price engineering, procurement, and construction contract to build the line.

Work began July 5 on the 450,000 b/d, 500-km line, which will follow the route of the existing SOTE pipeline, except for a 100 km deviation north of Quito.

Final regulatory approval was granted last month (OGJ Online, June 29, 2001). Techint has 25 months from that approval to build the line.

OCP will double the country's oil transport capacity and allow development of fields that have not been able to begin production because of lack of capacity on the existing line (OGJ Online, Apr. 12, 2001).

OCP Ecuador is made up of five oil companies that produce oil in the Oriente basin, and Techint of Argentina, which owns 4.1% interest in the line. The producers are Occidental Ecuador Inc. with a 12.3% share, Alberta Energy Co. 31.4%, Kerr-McGee Corp. 4%, Perez Companc 15%, Repsol-YPF SA 25.7%, and Agip SPA 7.5%.

Westdeutsche Landesbank Girozentrale (West LB) is leading the financing, which will provide $900 million of the cost.