Ecuador to relaunch process to revamp, operate Esmeraldas refinery

A new call to help manage Ecuadoran national oil company Petroecuador’s 110,000b/d Esmeraldas refinery is due to be issued in the coming months.

The energy and mines ministry recently declared the original process void, information from the NOC shows.

The ministry tasked Petroecuador and the hydrocarbons department with reviewing and updating precontractual documents with the aim of starting a new process by mid-August.

Although a reason for calling off the tender was not disclosed, the previous timetable was modified in September after a request from a potential bidder and issues related to the change in government.

President Daniel Noboa took office in November after winning a snap election called by predecessor Guillermo Lasso.

Noboa’s administration has been challenged by drug-related violence which has further impacted the country’s economic crisis. The next presidential and legislative elections are scheduled for February.

The government announced the refinery call in September 2022 and launched bidding in October.

The 25-year contract entails the modernization, expansion and integral operation of the plant and implementation of a high conversion process.