The Suez plant would require 45m cuft/d of gas, the price of which would be indexed to Camisea gas, although whether directly or indirectly has not yet been decided, BPZ VP of business development Xavier Su̱iga is reported to have said. The pipeline project, whose construction would take four months, would entail selling to industrial users and other Ecuadorian generators. As a result of this, BPZ already has spoken to a ceramics plant north of Arenillas, and local generators Intervesa, Termopichincha and Electroguayas, which between them would require an additional 100m cuft/d, Mr Su̱iga said.
BPZ is awaiting regulatory approval on the Ecuadorian side for the project and for several new loans under consideration, BPZ’s COO Frederic Briens said in an interview.
The World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) is an equity investor and senior lender on BPZ’s side, providing roughly 60% of the $170million required for the pipeline plus Corvina drilling, an offshore pipeline, gas-processing facilities and BPZ’s 160-MW Nueva Esperanza power plant project, Mr Briens said.
Engineering and geotechnical studies for the Nueva Esperanza plant have been completed and the project is in the financing stage, Briens said. BPZ has awarded the EPC contract to Houston-based construction firm BTEC, which will begin construction by November this year. Construction could take 9-12 months and the company aims to begin operations in September 2007, Briens said.
The two companies are also evaluating a $100-million pipeline extension project that would stretch 240km from Arenillas to Guayaquil, Mr Briens said. The companies would need to secure permits, financing, and customers in Guayaquil to carry out the project, for which various routes have been proposed. Guayaquil has a ripe industrial market, and Ecuadorian industrial organization Egranconel has expressed interest in becoming an equity partner in the pipeline extension or possibly constructing its own pipeline, Mr Su̱iga said.
Ecuador’s electricity sector is in need of fuel as the government spends $1.5billion a year to subsidize generation. The government imports $85/brl diesel that is then sold for $35/brl to local generators, he added.