Edwin Pineda, President, Best Energy

• Interview

How do your geological services help advance Ecuador’s extractive industries?

The company was incorporated in 2010, and since then we have been providing consultancy to the mining and oil sectors. We have developed many alliances with companies operating in Ecuador in order to bring internationally renowned technology. During this time, we have also formed a team with multiple professionals from different areas of expertise to offer a comprehensive service. In a nutshell, we build 3D models that attempt to represent the geological characteristics of reservoirs. We also measure the current status of the reserves and depict different scenarios to decide on the best system to extract those resources. We evaluate numerous areas, ranging from how many wells have to be drilled to the number of drills needed to determine the best way to proceed. Our goal is to maximize the production of oil barrels per day, though we have to be careful because these structures can end up damaging the structure of the well.

How do your geological services integrate with environmental risk analysis?

The first thing we do is evaluate the composition of the subsurface and then identify the location where the well will be drilled. In the environmental area, we determine where those reserves are, and each company then takes its own steps to analyze the expected environmental risks. We have an alliance with a company in the field of environmental risk analysis.

How are your services helping advance the sector?

We work in a branch of science called geostatistics, which combines geology and statistics to determine the existing amount of reserves. For us, each well is a source of information, which we then mix with other areas of knowledge. Geostatistics was born in the mining sector between the 1960s and 1970s. The mining sector in Ecuador has much to learn in terms of method calculations of mineral deposits. It is a booming industry, and there are many opportunities for foreign investors. Drilling a well to evaluate potential reserves is more cost-efficient than directly drilling for production; therefore, companies can get a better grasp of their potential output in oil or mining activities thanks to our services. ✖