Publications

Survey of Energy Resources 2007

Crude Oil and Natural Gas Liquids Country Notes

Ecuador

Proved recoverable reserves (crude oil and NGLs, million tonnes)	719
Production (crude oil and NGLs, million tonnes, 2005)	27.6
R/P ratio (years)	26.1
Year of first commercial production	1917

The early discoveries of oil (1913-1921) were made in the Santa Elena peninsula on the south-west coast. From 1967 onwards, numerous oil fields were discovered in the Amazon Basin in the north-east of the country, adjacent to the Putamayo fields in Colombia: these eastern (Oriente) fields are now the major source of Ecuador's oil production.

The level of proved reserves shown above has been derived from World Oil's end-2005 figure of 5 145 million barrels, as the corresponding level (4 630) reported by Oil & Gas Journal, the previous data source for Ecuador, appears low in comparison with World Oil and other published sources (OPEC 5 060; BP 5 100).

Ecuador's oil output was running at a record level in 2005, with crude oil averaging 532 000 b/d over the year, plus a small amount of NGLs. About 70% of crude production is exported, the rest being refined locally.