Energy Advisor

Jeremy Martin, member of the Energy Advisor board and vice president of energy and sustainability at the Institute of the Americas: “Ecuador’s economic climate, worsened by Covid and long-simmering social conflicts from myriad stakeholders and groups, has been a double-barreled barrier for the Lasso administration’s efforts to reboot the nation’s once-formidable oil sector. Indeed, the very uneven start at the outset of his administration and lack of progress arguably cost Lasso’s first energy minister his job. Recognizing the economic headwinds and addressing them through fiscal and contract modalities is possible and clearly part of the bidding process being touted. But ensuring a just and equitable oil development model that satisfies the nation’s panoply of stakeholders demands an entirely different level of attention and capacity. Government officials, Indigenous representatives and all participants deserve credit for…”