Burlington Resources to acquire ARCO’s Ecuador operations

Petroleum News Alaska Staff

ARCO said Oct. 26 that it has reached agreement with Burlington Resources Inc. on the sale of ARCO’s Ecuador operations and other ARCO-held Latin American exploration properties.

The sale is subject to Government approvals and to partner preemption options.

In Ecuador, ARCO Oriente Inc. early this summer started production from Villano, a 200 million barrel field of 21-degree crude oil which was discovered in 1992. ARCO has a 60 percent interest in the Ecuador Block 10 service contract, which includes the Villano field, the most significant property in the proposed sale package. Gross production from the field is estimated to reach 40,000 barrels of oil per day in the first half of 2000.

The sale package also includes Block 24 in Ecuador, which was awarded to ARCO under a participation contract in 1998 for a four-year exploration period, with an optional two-year extension. Other blocks in the package are Peru Block 64 and Colombia Blocks Los Galeones and Fragata.