Ecuador is pushing to increase its production of crude oil but faces a backlash from environmentalists and Indigenous groups.
Ecuador has started fracking in the Amazon rainforest for the first time, state oil company Petroecuador said Wednesday.
The new hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, project is in the Amazonian province of Sucumbios on Ecuador’s border with Colombia.
The fracking at a new well on Block 57 – Shushufindi Libertador represents “milestone ” for oil production in the country, the Ministry of Environment and Energy said in a statement released on Wednesday.
The new well is in full production, producing more than 930 barrels a day, the ministry of said.
The project is being jointly conducted with a subsidiary of China’s national petroleum corporation, CCDC.
What is fracking?
Fracking entails extracting natural gas and petroleum from subterranean bedrock.
It is criticized for using industrial quantities of water to break open rocks as well as causing chemical contamination and provoking micro-earthquakes.
Ecuador pushing to ramp up oil production
Ecuador’s crude oil production fell to around 466,000 barrels a day in January 2026, a 13% drop from the same period a decade earlier. Analysts point to aging infrastructure and years of underinvestment as part of the problem.
Oil revenues make up a significant amount of Ecuador’s export earnings.
The government of President Daniel Noboa has promised more funds for oil exploration and infrastructure and to attract greater foreign oil investments.
At the same time, his government’s push to expand oil exploration, particularly in the Amazon, has alarmed environmentalists and Indigenous leaders.
Edited by: Zac Crellin
DW News
