Has Ecuador started fracking? New oil project causes confusion and concern

Earlier this month, state-owned oil company Petroecuador announced a new project involving “hydraulic fracturing” in an oil block in the Ecuadorian Amazon. As a result, some observers spoke out against the environmental risks of high-volume shale “fracking,” in which water and chemicals are injected at high pressures into the tight bedrock to release trapped oil and gas.

Shale fracking tends to cause air pollution, uses high quantities of water, and can result in contamination that creates public health risks for surrounding communities.

But while “hydraulic fracturing” and shale “fracking” involve similar processes, they’re carried out at entirely different intensities, with different designs, the observers later said. The two terms are often used interchangeably, and the government didn’t explain the distinction or follow up when the groups asked for clarification, they said.

“It’s striking because, for us, one of the concerns is the lack of information associated with this announcement,” Sebastián Valdivieso, Ecuador country director for the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), told Mongabay.

The announcement concerned oil in Block 57, also known as the Shushufindi Libertador block, located in Sucumbíos province, which is largely covered by Amazonian rainforest. New drilling there would yield 930 barrels a day, extracted with the help of service provider Chuanqing Drilling Engineering Corporation (CCDC), a subsidiary of China National Petroleum Corporation.

In its announcement, Petroecuador said it was the first time in the country’s history that hydraulic fracturing would be used on subsurface limestone, where those kinds of operations aren’t usually carried out.

“This discovery not only increases the volume of barrels produced in the country, but also opens a new horizon of exploration, highlighting the potential in areas that continue to be strategic for Ecuador’s energy development,” Petroecuador said in its announcement.

Hydraulic fracturing in limestone deposits, such as the one in Block 57, typically uses far less water and pressure than the high-volume shale fracking done in the U.S. Limestone is more permeable than shale, making the oil easier to extract and generally posing less risk to the environment.

At the same time, that doesn’t mean the risk is zero, critics pointed out.

Valdivieso, representing WCS Ecuador, said the government is using hydraulic fracturing more intensely than before to extract the remaining oil from older wells. But no data have been provided on water quantities or sources, he said. He also said they want to know where the water is released after it’s been used in the hydraulic fracturing process.

There aren’t any publicly available hydrogeological studies assessing groundwater contamination risk around Block 57, or explanations about how to mitigate the risk, given the well’s proximity to ecologically sensitive Amazon watersheds.

Petroecuador didn’t respond to a request for comment for this story.

Oil accounts for more than 37% of Ecuador’s exports and nearly 10% of its GDP, according to the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative.

In recent years, production has increased in many oil fields in and around Block 57. The Drago field went from 2,854 barrels of oil per day in July 2025 to a peak of 5,954 bpd in February 2026. New wells have also been drilled in the nearby Lobo, Gacela, Tetete and Pucuna fields.

The country has struggled with production in recent years, due to the closure of the Yasuní ITT fields, and should be focusing more on renewable energy, critics said. Some estimates put the country’s investment in renewable energy at $7.19 million in 2024 while investment in oil and gas continues to reach into the billions.

“We are at a moment in which Ecuador has to look more seriously at establishing alternative energy projects,” Valdivieso said.

Banner image: Yasuni National Park in Ecuador’s northeastern jungle, not far from Block 57. (AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa, File)

Citation:

Gehne, S., & Benson, P. M. (2019). Permeability enhancement through hydraulic fracturing: Laboratory measurements combining a 3D printed jacket and pore fluid over-pressure. Scientific Reports, 9(1). doi:10.1038/s41598-019-49093-1

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