Ecuador warns oil companies to keep up investments

Ecuador could cancel contracts with petroleum companies if they do not fulfill their investment plans, Oil Minister Germanico Pinto said on Thursday in the government’s latest warning to the private sector.

The socialist government has a troubled relationship with foreign investors, punctuated by tax and other legal disputes. But Pinto said that so far, he sees no signs of companies failing to live up to their investment commitments.
“If we detect that a business is not fulfilling its plans, we would start a legal process. And what does the law say? It says there is a process for canceling contracts,” Pinto told local radio.

Spain’s Repsol, Brazil’s Petrobras, Chinese consortium Andes Petroleum and Italy’s Eni operate in OPEC-member Ecuador despite President Rafael Correa’s ongoing spats with the private sector.

Reuters