$ 221 paid million for tanks in the Esmeraldas Refinery

Maintenance costs for 33 tanks and the construction of 3 new ones by the Tesca Ingeniería del Ecuador company as part of the rehabilitation of the Esmeraldas Refinery amounted to $ 221.2 million, according to information from EP Petroecuador. However, tanks present major problems at the moment.

73 huge storage tanks for oil and crude products can be seen in the area. One of them is in a bad state. At least 22 tanks can not be used because they are in litigation after the government unilaterally terminated the contract with the Tesca company, for breach of contract.

The contract with the Tesca corporation, whose manager at the time of the signing was Jaime Patricio Morillo Wellenius and its president Jose Antonio Perez, established the maintenance of 33 tanks; But only 11 were repaired.

Three tanks under construction can be seen in a nearby area. Precisely, this contract amounting to $ 102.56 million was analyzed by the National Audit Office.

In 2012, then-Refining Manager Carlos Pareja Yannuzzelli signed the agreement with Tesca for $ 47.96 million, but a few days before the end of the term in 2015, Pareja Yannuzelli decided to sign a complementary one for $ 54.6 million, which increased the works, amounts, and deadlines for delivery.

The audit agency indicated that Tesca subcontracted the Vestsacer and Indigi companies for the construction of the tanks, but soon the contracts were finished by mutual consent. Petroecuador can not access the infrastructure until the contract is settled.

In the meantime, the Polytechnic School of Ecuador has been hired to expedite the settlement, while two tanks of the Heavy Crude Oil Pipeline System (OCP) has been leased in case of needing more storage capacity. (I)