Country
Assessment
In May 2017, at the One Planet Summit in Paris, Colombia joined Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Mexico, and the US states of California and Washington and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbia, Nova Scotia, Ontario, and Quebec in launching the Carbon Pricing in the Americas Cooperative Framework. Law 1931/2018 established the National Program of Greenhouse Gas Emissions Tradable Quotas, a national emissions trading system (sistema de cupos y créditos), which is still awaiting implementation.
No evidence regarding targets and limits could be found in the sources consulted.
Until mid-2020, the Agency for the Regulation and Control of Hydrocarbons (Agencia de Regulación y Control Hidrocarburifero) regulated the exploration, exploitation, industrialization, refining, transport, and commercialization of hydrocarbons. In 2020, it merged with the regulators overseeing the mining and electricity sectors to create the Agency for the Regulation and Control of Energy and Nonrenewable Natural Resources (Agencia de Regulación y Control de Energía y Recursos Naturales no Renovables [ARC]). This merger of regulatory agencies aligns with the merger of ministries to create the MEM. The ARC assumed the responsibilities, obligations, and practices of the Agency for the Regulation and Control of Hydrocarbons. Articles 3, 6, and 11 of Ministerial Agreement MEM-MEM-2022-0047-AM, 2022 , confirm that the MEM is the ultimate regulator, but that the ARC will be responsible for ensuring compliance with sector reporting and consultation requirements. Petroecuador is the only entity authorized to buy and sell oil, gas, and refined products. It is also responsible for most of the oil and gas production in Ecuador. The company is also tasked with negotiating and signing contracts with other companies on behalf of the government. The Ministry of Environment oversees some special provisions under its jurisdiction, in its role of monitoring and auditing the environmental management of all industrial activity. The Undersecretariat of Climate Change serves as the coordinating and facilitating unit for climate finance.
Article 39 of the Hydrocarbons Law, 1978 , states that operators cannot waste, vent, or flare natural gas without authorization from the MEM. Exceptions for flaring and venting without prior approval under special circumstances such as emergency conditions could not be identified in official documents. For new facilities, Article 9 of Ministerial Agreement MEM-MEM-2022-0047-AM, 2022 , authorizes flaring of associated gas in the case of emergency or facility breakdown, during liquid discharge, and for production testing purposes in the exploration, appraisal, and development phases.
According to Article 72 of the Hydrocarbon Operations Regulation, 2018 , flaring must be included in technical analysis and approved by the MEM. Article 73 reiterates that flaring must be technically justified and at a minimum level. Article 57 of Executive Decree 1215, 2001 , also mentions that flaring is allowed with prior approval if full use is not technically and economically feasible. For existing facilities, Article 3 of Ministerial Agreement MEM-MEM-2022-0047-AM, 2022 , requires operators to seek up-front approval from ACR before any flaring of associated gas. Article 6 has the same requirement for new facilities, but Article 9 explicitly bans routine flaring for this group.
Article 50 of the Hydrocarbon Operations Regulations, 2018 , requires operators to seek the MEM’s approval before development and production activities by presenting the operations program with technical or economic justifications. The operations program should include estimated volumes of associated gas for various destinations (as described in section 7 of this case study). The MEM’s authorization allows the flaring of the volumes of associated gas estimated in the operations program. Article 4 of Ministerial Agreement MEM-MEM-2022-0047-AM, 2022 , requires a plan for the progressive reduction of routine flaring for existing facilities, while Article 7 asks for an associated gas optimization plan for new facilities.
Article 57 of Executive Decree 1215, 2001 , requires operators to have an approved environmental management plan establishing feasible technical alternatives to gas flaring for emission reduction and control. It also requires prioritization of associated gas for re-injection and enhanced oil recovery. If re-injection is not possible, a technical and economic analysis should be carried out to identify the best use of the gas, preferably for electricity generation. If the technical and economic conditions do not allow full use in certain facilities, unused gas may be flared, with prior authorization from the MEM.
Article 73 of the Hydrocarbon Operations Regulation, 2018 , requires operators to measure the volume of gas flared and report the results to the ARC. It ensures compliance with volumes from technical documents approved by the MEM. Article 87 of the Hydrocarbon Operations Regulation, 2018, states that annual emission reports are due to the ARC the first month of each subsequent year. The report should describe the use and flaring of associated natural gas. In line with the Hydrocarbon Operations Regulation, 2018, Article 11 of Ministerial Agreement MEM-MEM-2022-0047-AM, 2022 , requires operators to provide the ARC with an overview of the volumes of associated gas, and their use including routine and nonroutine flaring. Articles 30 and 57 of Executive Decree 1215, 2001 , require operators to monitor their emissions, including from flaring. Emissions from flares must comply with maximum limits set in Table 3 of Annex 2 of the decree.
Article 90 of Executive Decree 1215, 2001 , provides the following nonmonetary sanctions: Operators may be removed from the register that allows them to provide services, thereby revoking operators’ rights. The Ministry of Environment may temporarily suspend the operator’s activities until there is compliance.
Flared volumes of associated gas at each site are relatively small and subject to production fluctuations. Under the Optimization of Electricity Generation and Energy Efficiency Program , Petroecuador aims to reduce associated gas flaring. Gas is allocated to centralized electricity generation facilities in the Amazon region (Oriente Basin) and distributed through an interconnected system for public and private companies.