Esmeraldas Refinery Restarts FCC Unit May 15; Gasoline and Domestic Gas Resume, Diesel Premium Deferred to June 2

Petroecuador restarted the Fluid Catalytic Cracking (FCC) unit — Unidad de Craqueo Catalítico Fluidizado — at the Esmeraldas refinery on May 15, 2026, beginning to reverse the production collapse that had forced Ecuador to import the majority of its fuel.

Operational Detail

• Unit restarted: FCC, on May 15, 2026
• Products resuming: domestic-use gas (LPG) and gasolines
• Deferred: diesel premium reactivates June 2
• Capacity context: the refinery had been operating at 41% of its 110,000 bpd capacity
• Output figures cited: 4,612 barrels of liquefied gas and 7,488 barrels of treated naphtha
• Import dependency during outage: Ecuador was forced to import 65% of its fuel demand

Sebastián Maag stated that the FCC reactivation will contribute to easing supply ("contribuirá a aliviar el suministro").

Context

This is the inflection point in a multi-week refinery disruption that Ecuador Brief has tracked since the FCC went offline. The economic backdrop: 65% import dependency on refined fuels translates directly into FX outflows, fiscal subsidy pressure, and the diesel/gasoline supply tightness that has rippled through transport costs and the broader cost-of-living picture. The FCC restart does not resolve the situation — it begins to. Diesel premium, the product most relevant to freight and industrial users, remains offline until June 2.

What to Watch

• FCC ramp curve: restart ≠ full capacity. Track whether the unit moves above the 41% capacity baseline and how fast.
• June 2 diesel premium milestone: confirm whether the date holds. Diesel is the product with the broadest downstream cost transmission (freight, agriculture, thermal generation).
• Import volume normalization: the 65% import dependency figure is the key macro metric — watch for it to decline in Petroecuador and BCE trade reporting through June.
• Subsidy and FX impact: lower fuel imports reduce both the subsidy bill and dollar outflows; quantify the swing in subsequent fiscal data.
• Reliability risk: the FCC has a history of unplanned outages. A second trip would reset this entire timeline.

Source: Primicias