Energy Advisor

Ecuador’s government and Indigenous leaders on Sept. 9 signed an agreement to temporarily halt development of 15 oil blocks until a law governing community consultations is put into place. The deal followed anti-government protests that Indigenous activists launched earlier this year. The agreement came two days after an Ecuadorean court paved the way for a referendum to ban oil drilling in Yasuní National Park, a move that could jeopardize President Guillermo Lasso’s effort to more than double the country’s oil production, according to media reports. How likely are the moratorium and referendum to hamper Ecuador’s oil production, and to what extent is it becoming harder for oil companies to operate in Ecuador? What do the supporters of the moratorium and referendum want, and are they open to compromise? How well is the country balancing its economic need for oil revenues with the interests and needs of local communities negatively affected by hydrocarbon production?