Despite registering $ 6,000 million of crude oil sales, the Government has only had $ 1,234 million available for spending until September 2021
Between January and September 2021, the General State Budget received $ 1,234 million for oil revenue. However, in the same period, the exports Crude oil totals totaled about $ 6 billion.
In other words, only $ 21 out of every $ 100 of sales of Petroleum They came as resources available to the Government during this year.
This reality is due to the fact that, since the oil boom During the administration of Rafael Correa, an inefficient hydrocarbon exploitation system was established and a gpublic hall getting heavier.
Thus, before being able to dispose of the oil revenues, all the costs of the oil must be paid. Petroecuador, contracts with private companies, the importation of fuels and derivatives.
More expenses than profit
According to calculations by the Pichincha College of Economists, only fuel imports average an annual cost of more than $ 3 billion.
In addition, 31% of that income has to be allocated as budget pre-allocation to Local Governments, and a percentage of less than 10% for universities, basic education and high school, technical secretariat of Amazonian constituency, among others.
In the proforma 2021 it is established that these pre-allocations add up to $ 4.979 million.
Until December of this year, despite the best oil prices, it is expected that oil revenues to the general budget of the State will reach almost $ 2,600 million.
That level is 354% more than the $ 565 million registered in 2020; but insufficient for the level of expenditures in the State.
Mishandling takes its toll
Between 2011 and 2014, price from the barrel of the Petroleum averaged over $ 96, but instead of strengthening the sector, boosting investment, and increasing production, a system of growing public spending, inconvenient contracts with private companies and inefficiency was established.
The result is that the 580,000 barrels per day were never exceeded, but the numbers were decreasing. Thus, in those boom years, oil revenues to the budget went from a peak of more than $ 4.5 billion to less than $ 2.8 billion.
Pedro Viteri, a petroleum engineer, commented that at that time mismanagement and the lack of an investment policy were consolidated.
“That panorama only deepened with the pandemic. 2020 closed with a little more than 500,000 barrels a day. Now the production it continues to decline and does not exceed 480,000 barrels. Unfortunately, the good environment of international prices it is lost to a large extent by this constant decline, “he said.
On October 19, 2021, the Minister of Energy, Juan Carlos Bermeo, denounced that there are senior officials in the sector who do not “care or do not care if there is oil production or not.”
The Government has set an ambitious goal of doubling the production (1 million barrels per day) until 2025. However, Fernando Reyes, vice president of the College of Petroleum Engineers, has considered that a more realistic objective would be a 22% increase.
This is because structural problems will take longer to resolve, but also because of strong opposition from unions, social movements and environmentalists for the exploitation model to be changed and there is more private investment.
