Ecuador has called an international tender for construction, operation, and transfer of a 514-km crude oil pipeline from Sacha oil field in the Oriente oil province to the export terminal at Balao on the Pacific coast.
The new pipeline would transport 16-18° gravity crude from fields in the central southern Oriente jungle as well as from future developments.
Capacity of the Sistema de Oleoducto Centro Oriente (SOCO) pipeline will be 216,000 b/d from Sacha to Sarayacu, near Baeza, and 246,000 b/d from Baeza to Balao.
From Baeza to Balao, the new line also will parallel the route of the existing Trans-Ecuadorian trunk pipeline. The Sacha-Baeza segment will follow a separate route, crossing Oryx Energy Co.'s Block 7 and Triton Energy Ltd.'s Block 19.
Of the pipeline's total length, 280 km will be 24 in., 675 km 8 in., and 169 km 28 in. In addition, two spurs will be laid to the Sacha pump station: a 50-km, 12-in. line from Auca Sur field and a 30-km, 24-in. line from Limoncocha field.
The project also calls for installation of a 750,000-bbl tank farm at Sacha station and a 2 million-bbl tank farm at Balao.
The new pipeline concept reflects the current government's preference for a line to transport exclusively low-gravity crudes from the central-southern Oriente rather than mixing them with lighter crudes from the northern Oriente.
The tender concludes a long-debated question as to the real need for construction of a new pipeline, despite continuing criticism of the project.
In addition, it shines a spotlight on efforts to privatize some areas of Ecuador's oil sector, an effort that is part of a larger scheme to privatize a wide portion of Ecuador's economy.
That entire process could become bogged down, however, if political upheaval continues in the wake of the Ecuadorian Congress' recent impeachment and ouster of President Abdala Bucaram.
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