Ecuador is looking to diversify their energy sources. Currently, 90 percent of the energy used in the country comes from oil and its derivatives. Four percent comes from natural gas, and three percent from hydroelectric energy.

The Ecuadorian economy could have serious problems if new sources of oil are not discovered, president Rafael Correa said during his weekly broadcast. It’s also imperative to start finding energy in new ways.

“If we carry on consuming energy this way, the country will collapse,” he said.
Correa presented a report on Ecuador’s energy sources that has been in the works since 2011.

The president admitted that Ecuador’s energy usage is extremely polluting. Half of the oil derivatives the country uses goes towards transportation.

According to Correa, the report shows that oil extraction needs to increase. He says that opening up the southeastern oil blocks (known as the 11th Round Oil Auction) in the Amazon rainforest for bidding will partially solve this problem. But it only buys time until 2030.

There could be 1.6 billion barrels of oil in the southeastern oil blocks, according to optimistic estimates. Ecuadorian government officials have been travelling the world seeking bidders to invest in the 13 blocks identified as new areas for oil extraction. The blocks are in the Antepaís basin, known as Putumayo - Oriente - Marañón. Ecuador hopes to raise $1.2 billion from selling the contracts for four years of oil exploration and twenty years of oil extraction.

Bids will be accepted until May 30, and the first contracts signed before November.
In the meantime, the president said, new energy sources will have to be explored. But he criticized those opposed to the medium term solution of expanding oil extraction in the Amazon. He said opposition to the oil block auction affects the whole population of Ecuador and could bankrupt the country.

“Our way of life is unsustainable if we don’t find enough oil to get us through the next 10 or 15 years while we reform our energy sources,” he said.