MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Ecuador says it is breaking oil daily production record

The country, a member of OPEC is one of the smallest contributors of the cartel

State-owned oil company Petroecuador said it broke its daily production record on Tuesday 15 November, pumping 156.359 barrels of crude on that day. Production from Jan. 1 to Nov. 8 totalled 47,096,086 barrels of crude, Petroecuador said in a report.

The state-owned oil company’s goal was to achieve average output of 150.949 barrels per day (bpd). The production figures in the report indicate that Petroecuador has surpassed its goal by 6.5%.

New technologies that allow an “increase in the potential of wells” have boosted production, Petroecuador said.

The production record was set thanks to a shift in production to areas with “better potential” and the use of “geo-mechanics in wells to reduce risks and optimize drilling times,” the report said.

Ecuador produces some 500,000 bpd of crude, with about 63% of output coming from state-owned companies, such as Petroecuador and Petroamazonas, and the rest from private companies that have contracts with the government.

Oil is Ecuador’s main export and also generates 25% of public revenues.