By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, Sept. 19 -- EnCana Corp., Calgary, agreed to sell all its oil and pipeline holdings in Ecuador to Andes Petroleum Co., a consortium of Chinese oil companies led by China National Petroleum Corp, for $1.42 billion.
The sale, subject to Ecuador's governmental approval, is expected to close by Dec. 31 with an effective date retroactive to July 1. Sale proceeds will be used to reduce debt, EnCana said.
"This planned sale marks essentially the final step in sharpening the focus," EnCana Pres. and Chief Executive Officer Gwyn Morgan said of his company, which has sold its conventional assets to focus on nonconventional resource plays in North America (OGJ, July 12, 2004, p. 39).
Last year, EnCana divested $3.5 billion in conventional oil and gas properties.
Regarding Ecuador, Canada's independent has a 36.6% interest in the $1.4 billion crude oil pipeline Oleoducto de Crudos Pesados (OCP), which carries heavy crude oil from Ecuador's Oriente basin to the coast for export to the US.
EnCana has 100% interest in the Tarapoa Block with oil production of 38,000 b/d. It also had 40% nonoperated interest in Block 15, 75% interest in Block 14, 70% interest in Block 17, and 100% interest in the Shiripuno Block.
