Govt. awards OCP operating permit

Ecuador's government has finally awarded the OCP pipeline consortium an initial operating permit for the pipeline, the energy ministry said in a statement. According to the permit, OCP must operate the pipeline without interruption for six months, after which the consortium must present the ministry with final engineering plans. "This is only an initial permit and the final permit will come later, as long as we comply with certain conditions," an OCP spokesperson told BNamericas. OCP must keep the pipeline in good working order and replace parts, as needed, in line with international standards, energy minister Carlos Arboleda said. The consortium must also be careful to adhere to environmental norms and give special attention to reforestation activities, the minister said. OCP completed tests in October and is currently transporting an average of about 180,000 barrels of oil a day (b/d), the spokesperson said. It has a capacity of about 450,000b/d. The consortium is led by Canada's Encana, which has a 36.26% stake. Then comes Spain's Repsol YPF with 29.66%, US-based Occidental with 14.15%, Argentina's Petrobras Energia with 8.96%, Italy's Agip with 4.49%, and UK's Perenco with 4.02%.