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Despite being an oil exporter, Ecuador lives a complex reality regarding fuel supply Jet A-1, of which matters close to 50% of your operational needs.
After the brief crisis that saw the supply of aviation fuel on Ecuador al 50% via NOTE for 7 days, The picture becomes clearer and we can understand why., despite being oil exporters, The country has been one of the first in the world to apply restrictions in parallel to what is happening in the Middle East. The dependence on imports is high and with a refinery of Esmeraldas Out of service, future crises remain on the table.
During the technical sessions of the Wings of Change 2026 on Santiago de Chile, One of the points that attracted the most attention among analysts was the fuel supply risk report in Latin America, presented by S&P Global Energy.
Ecuador imports more than it refines
The data reveals a complex reality for Ecuador, a country that, despite maintaining its status as a net oil exporter, faces a critical dependency on the import of derivatives, with a direct and worrying impact for the national aeronautical industry.
According to the figures of the 2025, Ecuador should matter 46% of aviation fuel (Jet Fuel) necessary to maintain its air operations. This figure places the country in a position of considerable logistical vulnerability to international price fluctuations and disruptions in global supply chains.. While in the region there are extreme cases such as Panama with a 100% of dependency, The Ecuadorian situation is paradoxical due to its raw material production capacity., which does not translate into self-sufficiency for the airline sector.
The analysis presented at the event highlights that the risk to Ecuador It is not limited only to Jet Fuel. The dependence on other derivatives is even deeper, reaching a 75% In the case of diesel and a 57% in gasoline. This import structure puts pressure on internal logistics, since the country has an excess processing capacity of barely 19 thousand barrels per day, equivalent to 13% of its potential. For airlines operating in hubs Quito and Guayaquil, This means that almost half of the fuel used by its aircraft is subject to external factors that are beyond the control of the local market..
This scenario poses immediate strategic challenges for the country's connectivity.. In a context of geopolitical volatility, the dependency of 46% in Jet Fuel forces authorities and industry players to reconsider the efficiency of national refineries and the security of import routes.
The report highlights that, to ensure sustained growth of aviation in Ecuador, It is imperative to address this energy gap that today conditions the competitiveness of its airports compared to regional neighbors with lower levels of dependency or greater storage capacity..
Let's hope for improvements in the global fuel situation and avoid new restrictions. I will be waiting…
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