Petroecuador, Ecuador's state-run oil company, said it received 11 contract offers from nine different companies to bolster oil production at the country's aging oil fields. Ecuador is the smallest member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) by production.
Among the companies that submitted bids were Schlumberger (SLB) and Halliburton (HAL), the two largest oilfield services firms in the world. China's Sinopec (SNP), Asia's largest refiner, Baker Hughes (BHI) and Weatherford International (WFT) also submitted bids.
Last year Petroecuador called private companies interested in service contracts to boost production at Shushufindi, Libertador, Auca, Lago Agrio and Cuyabeno, which currently produce an average of 150,000 barrels of oil a day, about 30% of Ecuador's national output, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Foreign oil companies have scaled back investment in Ecuador since leftist President Rafael Correa took office in 2007 amid threats by Correa to nationalize oil assets and expel foreign firms from his country.
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