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Ecuador certifies proven oil reserves of 1.67 bln barrels in Amazon

Xinhua, July 15, 2016 Adjust font size:

Ecuador said on Thursday that state-owned company Petroamazonas had confirmed new proven oil reserves of around 1.67 billion barrels in the province of Orellana, 82 percent more than its original estimation for the find.

The original estimation had placed the reserves at 920 million barrels but initial drilling showed the find was larger than thought, Vice President Jorge Glas told a press conference here.

"This means 19.5 billion U.S. dollars of additional revenue for Ecuadorians," said Glas, adding that U.S. company Ryder Scott had certified the additional reserves.

Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa celebrated on Twitter. "Very good news. Block 43 has at least 750 million additional reserve barrels, 82 percent more than the originally certified reserves."

"This means an incremental production increase of up to 300,000 barrels per day in 2022. We deliver these reserves to the country for future generations," he added.

At the press conference, Glas said that Ecuador had spent the last nine years creating conditions to attract foreign investment towards infrastructure and human capital.

Petroamazonas' director of operations, Alex Galarraga, said that the first drills began on March 28 before production tests on May 17.

Oil is Ecuador's major export and the country has suffered in recent years as dropping prices slashed deeply into planned government budgets. Endit