Ecuador Hopes to Auction Oil Blocks for $1 Billion

Reuters reported that Ecuador thinks it will be able to garner about $1 billion in investments by auctioning off oil blocks for exploration. The country has a total of 16 blocks available; three are reserved for state-run Petroamazonas while the other 13 are set to be auctioned off on November 28.

As quoted in the market news:

[Oil Minister Wilson] Pastor said preliminary studies show there are between 400 million and 1.6 billion barrels of crude oil reserves in the area where the blocks are. The government may decide to put four more blocks in the area up for auction in the future.

He said all major oil investors in the country have shown interest in the bidding process, including Spain’s Repsol ; Agip, the local subsidiary of Italy’s ENI ; and Andes Petroleum, which is controlled by China’s CNPC and SINOPEC; as well as European and Canadian companies.

Click here to read the full Reuters report.