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MEDIA:
In Ecuador, the increase in the price of oil leads to the fact that the income of resources to the Ecuadorian State remains in positive terms. The media Teleamazonas asks about this to our senior associate, Rafael Serrano, an expert lawyer in Energy issues, who considers that the trend of the international oil price will be maintained. Therefore, he believes it is important to consider other costs.
According to the Minister of Energy, Juan Carlos Bermeo, this does not mean that everything is income for the country, “because the increase in the price of oil means, in parallel, the increase in the price of fuels and what is required to import fuels, whether gasoline or diesel, is a greater amount of resources”.
Rafael Serrano, when asked about this matter, answers that “this for the country, obviously, will generate greater benefits, greater income, because a lower value was budgeted, but we also have to consider the increase in production costs in many areas: transportation costs, among others, which will make certain products more expensive”.
As a consequence of the above, the Government plans, among its future projects, a process of delegation to the private sector of the Esmeraldas Refinery. This is aimed at reducing the amount of waste and producing Euro 5 grade fuels. For this, the opinion of our expert is based on the fact that “seeking the help of the private sector through public-private alliances” is, in his opinion, “a very good mechanism to develop the Esmeraldas Refinery and to see alternatives that can be developed within the country to produce these derivatives here in Ecuador and thus make them cheaper”.
A greater use of associated gas is also expected for its use in electricity generation and industry, “cleaner and at a much lower cost”, adds the Minister.