QUITO, Oct 18 (Reuters) - Sixteen international oil companies are potentially interested in investing in six exploratory blocks in Ecuador that could add up to 24,000 barrels of crude per day to national output, the country's energy ministry said on Tuesday.
Ecuador launched a $2 billion bidding process earlier this month for the Intracampos II blocks in the Amazon region, part of efforts by President Guillermo Lasso to boost production to 756,000 barrels of oil per day by 2025, from 490,000 bpd at present.
The government has said the blocks, located in Sucumbios province where existing oil infrastructure is expected to help development, are low risk.
Companies from Peru, Colombia, Mexico, the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Egypt registered their interest at events held last week in Mexico and the United States, the statement said, without naming the companies.
"We have solid legal security, which facilitates the opportunity to attract investment for the development of six blocks in the Amazon, which in future could add 24,000 barrels of crude to national production," it added.
Energy Minister Xavier Vera had earlier said some 80 companies were interested in the round. (Reporting by Alexandra Valencia; writing by Julia Symmes Cobb; editing by Richard Pullin)
