Canadian oil and gas company Gran Tierra is targeting sustained production growth in Ecuador as it prepares to complete its current exploration phase in the Andean country and transition to full-scale development.
In a quarterly earnings call, executives said the company plans to complete its exploration commitments at the Charapa, Chanangue and Iguana blocks in Ecuador’s Oriente basin by the end of the year.
“In Ecuador, because we have a 100% operating interest, we control the pace,” CEO Gary Guidry told investors. “We are currently submitting field development plans with the government. And the intention would be in the next two to three years to get to that plateau production.”
Following successful drilling campaigns at Charapa and Chanangue, Gran Tierra successfully spudded the Iguana B1 and B2 wells in the first quarter.
Testing of the areas returned a combined median oil production rate of 1,684b/d with less than a 1% water cut, according to the Calgary-based operator. The company added that the Iguana B1 well was drilled and completed in record time and under budget.
“It will depend on volatility and on oil prices but these are great reservoirs,” Guidry said. “For us it’s really a regional development. We’ve seen that, certainly across the Charapa and Chanangue blocks, where we have numerous discoveries.
“When we finish our exploration at the end of this year, we’ll have a good sense of what that regional development looks like so that we can put in power, infrastructure and ramp up production.”
Gran Tierra did not make any change to its previously announced 2025 capital expenditure range of US$200-280mn, despite oil prices having fallen below the firm’s low-case scenario of US$65/b.
But CFO Ryan Ellson said an ongoing price slump caused by tariff uncertainty and higher global production could prompt the company to reconsider its guidance.
“We’re consistently looking at our capital allocation and we’re in a process of doing that right now with the recent volatility,” he said.