Ecuador and Chilean subsidiary ENAP renegotiate oil agreement

QUITO (Reuters) - Ecuador and a subsidiary of Chile's state-owned oil company ENAP renegotiated an existing agreement for the exploitation of an oil block in the Ecuadorian Amazon, with an additional investment of $90 million until 2035, the Ministry of Energy in Quito said on Saturday.

The new agreement, signed on July 15 between the ministry and the company ENAP SIPEC, which already operates the block, will allow an increase in reserves by 5.6 million barrels of crude oil, Energy and Mine minister Antonio Goncalves said in a statement.

"Ninety-eight percent of the new investments committed by the operator will be carried out during the first five years following the signing of the document," the minister said.

ENAP signed a service contract in 2010 with the Andean country for the operation of three blocks. The operation of block 46, located in the province of Orellana in the northeast with a production of 16,700 barrels per day (bpd), had already been renegotiated in early 2021.

ENAP's production in Ecuador was 28,443 bpd as of July 18, 2024, according to official data.

(Reporting by Alexandra Valencia; Edited by Natalia Ramos; Writing by Sarah Kinosian; Editing by Sandra Maler)