QUITO, Ecuador (AFX) - State management of oil fields formerly run by U.S.-based Occidental Petroleum Corp. generated some $930 million for Ecuador in the last six months, the government said Sunday.
Ecuador canceled Los Angeles-based Occidental's contract and seized its assets in May, claiming the oil company breached its contract by transferring 40 percent of its concession to Canada's EnCana Corp. in 2000 without authorization from the Energy Ministry.
State-run Petroecuador said in a statement published in the El Comercio newspaper that Ecuadorean management of Occidental's jungle oil fields from May 17 to Nov. 27 brought in $930 million on production of 97,000 barrels per day.
'This shows that management has been positive,' Petroecuador president Galo Chiriboga told The Associated Press. 'We are maintaining adequate production levels and making the necessary investments.'
The fields yielded 83 percent of planned production for the period, the report said, adding that managers hope to reach 98,800 barrels per day by year's end.
Occidental has filed a claim against the government of Ecuador with the International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes in Washington seeking $1 billion in damages for the termination of its contract.
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