LatinNews Daily - 4 March 2025

*Ecuador’s energy and mining minister, Inés Manzano, has confirmed that operating rights at the Sacha oilfield in Orellana province have been awarded to Sinopetrol – a consortium of Petrolia Ecuador and Amodaimi Oil Company, subsidiaries of Canada’s New Stratus Energy and China’s Sinopec respectively. The government has faced criticism over the Sacha deal, with the national assembly releasing a statement on 1 March accusing President Daniel Noboa’s administration of rushing an agreement with Sinopetrol during a public holiday to limit scrutiny of the deal. Speaking at a press conference yesterday, Manzano said that “it’s said that Sacha is the jewel in the crown [of Ecuador’s oil sector], but I’m sorry to say that it’s a rusty crown and that the jewels need a polish”. She said that under the new agreement, the Ecuadorean state will retain ownership over Sacha but that Sinopetrol will take over the site’s operations from state oil company Petroecuador. This, Manzano said, will enable investment in the oilfield’s infrastructure, which she said had not received adequate maintenance for the last 50 years, resulting in rusting equipment, fire prevention measures that do not meet international standards, and the risk of environmental catastrophe.