Ecuador’s government has said that China National Petroleum (CNPC) will finance the construction of a $12bn refinery project, Pacifico, in the country.
The Pacifico project is a joint venture between Ecuador’s state-run oil company Petroecuador and Venezuela-based state oil company PDVSA, where each hold 51% and 49% interest, respectively.
Pacifico project, which is scheduled to start in 2017, is expected to produce about 300,000 barrels of oil per day.
Ecuador Vice President Jorge Glas was quoted by Reuters as saying "Above all, we’ve advanced a lot in the realization of investments, and they comprise capital contributions from the (original) partners and the new partner."
The government has informed that the project construction is in its first phase and is currently completed about 21%.