New hydrocarbons terms take attractiveness "from bad to worse" - analyst - Ecuador
New hydrocarbons terms take attractiveness "from bad to worse" - analyst - Ecuador
Saturday, November 7, 2009
(BNamericas.com) - The new terms for Ecuador's hydrocarbons sector proposed in a bill drafted by the mines and oil ministry would take the country "from bad to worse" in terms of attracting private investment, Gianna Bern, president of Chicago-based Brookshire Advisory and Research, told BNamericas.
Among other things, the bill aims to give the state control over the oil sector through public companies or public-private JVs and would reduce exclusively private participation to only exceptional cases. Companies would largely be paid as service firms with the intent to channel all crude produced to the state, BNamericas reported previously.
"Changing any kind of royalty structures or payment structures where the state increases its take will have the continued effect of deterring investment in the country. It sends a very negative signal to the investment community and as the country tries to attract third-party producers I think they're going to find that the current regulatory regime there is not investor-friendly," Bern said.
"It's a shame, because they do have some attractive reserves and they're just not going to have any significant opportunity to exploit them because producers are going to walk from that kind of cost structure," she added.
The bill would establish a timeline for renegotiation of existing contracts.
The CEO and president of Venezuela-based Global Business Consultants, Alberto Cisneros, told BNamericas that it is Ecuador's repeated failure to honor contracts that marks the difference between it and countries like Brazil, where the government is currently attempting to create a new investment framework for its massive pre-salt finds.
"Brazil has a long-standing tradition of private capital, foreign direct investment (FDI), safe rules of the game for investors and political stability. The reason that pre-salt would be state-owned would not preclude the interest of FDI and private capital into other areas at all," Cisneros said.
"Ecuador is not one of the most likely intriguing places to go with FDI," he said....
Andec-Funasa open to possible strategic alliances - Ecuador
Saturday, November 7, 2009
(BNamericas.com) - Ecuadorian steelmaking consortium Andec-Funasa, which the state partly controls through the national army, is open to forming a strategic alliance with an international steelmaker, Andec commercial di... more
Mibam making progress on Matesi reactivation - Venezuela
Saturday, November 7, 2009
(BNamericas.com) - Venezuela's basic industries and mining ministry (Mibam) is making progress on the machinery and equipment repairs needed to restart operations at briquette producer Matesi.
"A complete maintenanc... more
CNH to issue Chicontepec recommendation next month, says commissioner - Mexico
Saturday, November 7, 2009
(BNamericas.com) - Mexico's upstream watchdog CNH will send its recommendation for the Chicontepec oil project in Puebla and Veracruz states to state oil firm Pemex's board in December, CNH commissioner Javier Estrada t... more
Smitco asks IFC for US$15.8mn to remodel Santa Marta container terminal - Colombia
Saturday, November 7, 2009
(BNamericas.com) - Santa Marta International Terminal Company Smitco is requesting a US$15.8mn loan from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the financial entity reported on its website.
The project involve... more
ProInversión launches tender for stretch 2 of IIRSA Centro highway - Peru
Saturday, November 7, 2009
(BNamericas.com) - Peru's private investment promotion agency ProInversión has launched a tender to concession a section of the IIRSA Centro highway, the entity reported in a release.
Stretch 2 involves the Puente R... more
Winners of 1.7GHz spectrum won't pay concession rights for 2 years - Mexico
Saturday, November 7, 2009
(BNamericas.com) - Mexico's congress approved on Thursday (Nov 5) a clause that entitles the winners of an upcoming auction for spectrum in the 1.7GHz band to be exempt from paying concession rights for the first two ye... more
Calderón opens remodeled Puerto Peñasco airport - Mexico
Saturday, November 7, 2009
(BNamericas.com) - Mexican president Felipe Calderón on Thursday inaugurated the remodeled Mar de Cortés airport in Puerto Peñasco, Sonora state, local papers reported.
The new airport, which cost 450mn pesos (US$33... more