Ecuador: 48 EP Petroecuador sites to return to private hands
The decision is part of the government's new oil policy, which establishes a maximum of 100 days to complete the sale of state-owned stations.
EP Petroecuador, Ecuador's public hydrocarbons company, will immediately sell all the service stations it owns, a total of 48 sites located in border areas and the Galapagos Islands.
According to national media reports, the decision is part of the Ecuadorian government's new oil policy, which establishes a maximum period of 100 days to complete the sale of state-owned service stations.
The 48 sites involved were privately owned until 2012, when the Government of Ecuador decided to expropriate them as they were declared to be of public utility. The price paid for these locations was below their real market value, so priority could be given to their original owners in the public bidding process.
"We consider that the state should give preference to the previous owners, and if they do not buy them, then sell them to other parties," said Carlos Salazar, President of the National Chamber of Fuel Distributors of Ecuador.
Ecuador's new oil policy also contemplates "reviewing existing distribution contracts in order to conclude them". The measure could affect a total of 205 privately owned EP Petroecuador sites.
