BRASPETRO'S ECUADOREAN OIL SEARCH TROUBLED
Environmental and Indian concerns are causing problems for foreign companies operating in Ecuador.
The latest development involves allegations that Braspetro, international arm of Brazil's state oil company Petroleos Brasileiro SA, has been harassing Huaorani Indians in an effort to drive them from tribal lands in Ecuador's Oriente jungle region. Braspetro, which operates Block 17 in the Oriente, denied the charges and said the Indian problems are the government's concern.
At the same time, Braspetro agreed to reduce its area of operations on the block.
OPPOSITION
Environmental activists, Indian groups, and Ecuador's Catholic National Conference of Bishops have asked Ecuador's government to halt Braspetro's activities in Block 17 because of the claims.
Indians number about 4 million out of Ecuador's population of about 9.6 million, and the country is considered to have the strongest Indian movement in South America.
The charges add momentum to increasing animosity aimed at foreign operators in Ecuador. State owned Petroleos del Ecuador is investigating allegations by the Natural Resources Defense Council that Texaco Inc. is responsible for oil spills totaling 400,000 bbl from the trans-Ecuador crude trunk pipeline during 1972-89. Texaco has denied those charges.
There are more than 40 international companies exploring for or developing oil in Ecuador's Oriente basin.
The country has struggled in recent years to sustain its crude export levels. At current rates of production, Ecuador's reserve life is estimated at 1 0 years.
BLOCK 17 WORK
Braspetro 40% operates Block 17 with Ste. Nationale Elf Aquitaine 30% and Taiwan's Oversea Petroleum Investment Corp. 30%.
Braspetro had completed processing and interpreting data gathered from recent seismic surveys and drilled the 1 Tiwae wildcat, which had noncommercial heavy oil shows.
Petroecuador does not want to ship heavy oil through the trans-Ecuador trunk line because that would reduce the quality of lighter Oriente export crudes currently moving through the system. However, Conoco Inc., which plans Ecuador's first heavy oil field development in nearby Block 16, has proposed laying a pipeline designed to move heavy crude to the coast (see map, OGJ, July 23, 1990, p. 23).
Braspetro and Elf each has tentatively decided to sell half its interest in the block. If exploration results and transportation conditions change, however, Braspetro said it may reevaluate that decision.
Under a new agreement, Braspetro will cut its area of operations on Block 17 by 25%. The company originally had committed to drilling three wells on the block but now is committed to two. It will spud the second well in March.
As of November 1990, Braspetro had invested about $30 million in Ecuadorean operations.
OTHER WORK
Meanwhile, Braspetro reported another oil discovery on Block 14, where Elf is the operator.
Elf 1 Yampuna flowed 700 b/d of 20 gravity oil. Elf had processed about 420 line km of seismic survey in the area before drilling its 1 Wanke discovery.
The 1 Wanke, drilled to 11,000 ft, flowed 1,400 b/d of 17 gravity oil (OGJ, Dec. 17, 1990, p. 32).
The Yampuna strike is close to a 1989 discovery, 1 Sunka, which flowed 980 b/d of 18 gravity oil on Block 14.
Elf is moving the rig to spud the 1 Kintia wildcat, also on Block 14.
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