By an OGJ correspondent
LIMA, Nov. 8 -- Petroperu, Peru's state oil company, is pressing Ecuador for information on a proposed project to link pipelines in their once-disputed border area.
Almost 2 years ago, the two countries began discussing a proposal to connect pipelines between Ecuador's southeastern blocks and Petroperu's Andoas station at the start of the northern branch of the North Peruvian Pipeline, as part of the peace treaty that ended their long border feud. But at a session of Ingepet 2002, the international upstream conference in Lima this week, Luis Suarez, head of the engineering unit of Petroperu's pipeline operations, complained that his department had lost all contact with its counterpart in Ecuador.
Suarez said Petroperu has requested Peru's foreign affairs office to verify that southeastern Blocks 32 and 33 are included and duly promoted in the ninth international oil bidding round by Ecuador. He also requested information on when the bid round will be held.
State oil company Petroecuador earlier defined eight blocks to be offered: offshore Blocks 4, 5, 39, and 40; and Amazon Blocks 20, 32, 33, and 35 (OGJ Online, Jan. 10, 2002). It said at that time it was considering adding three Amazon blocks to the sale. Petroecuador identified 13 structures on the blocks with possible reserves of 350 million bbl of heavy crude.
Fernando Rodrigo, manager of the Canadian International Development Agency office Peru, which is assisting the pipeline project in Peru, said Ecuador had postponed the bid round because of delays in Ecuador's presidential election, scheduled Nov. 24. He said the licensing round is scheduled during the first quarter of 2003 and that Blocks 20, 32, 33 and 35 have been pooled as the Amazon Region blocks, with heavy oil deposits.
