Ecopetrol
is Colombia's largest integrated oil & gas company, where it
accounts for 60% of total production. It is one of the top 50 oil companies
in the world and the fourth largest oil company in Latin America. The Company
is also involved in exploration and production activities in Brazil, Peru
and the United States Gulf Coast, and owns the main refineries in Colombia,
most of the network of oil and multiple purpose pipelines in the country,
petrochemical plants, and is entering into the biofuels business.
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EXMAR FLSRU contract for
15 years with Pacific Rubiales 2012
During the course of the first quarter EXMAR has signed a Floating
Liquefaction Regasification and Storage (FLSRU) contract for 15 years with
Pacific Rubiales in Colombia. The shipbuilding agreement will be signed in
the course of the second quarter. The FLRSU will be delivered in Colombia
at the beginning of 2015.
Exmar wins LNG contract in Colombia
April 8, 2012
Exmar, the Belgian firm which was the main player in the consortium initially
selected to roll out Jamaica's Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) project, has secured
a contract to build and operate a similar system in the region.
Pacific Stratus Energy (PSE) Colombia has contracted Exmar to build, operate,
and maintain a floating liquefaction regasification and storage unit (FLRSU)
for the Colombian Caribbean coast.
According to Exmar, this will be the world's first such unit, with a storage
capacity of 14,000 cubic meters of LNG. "We are proud to assist PRE
(Pacific Rubiales Energy, the parent company of PSE), in reducing the carbon
footprint of Central America and the Caribbean," said Nicolas Saverys, CEO
of Exmar. "This FLRSU will be the world's first operational floating
LNG production unit. The unique technology on board the unit is the result
of Exmar's innovative leadership in the LNG industry during the past years,"
added Saverys.
Under the agreement with PSE, Exmar will supply and liquefy millions of
metric tons of LNG over a 15-year period, under a tolling structure.
PSE will provide the gas via a planned, new 88-km pipeline from its producing
La Creciente gas field to the Caribbean coast.
The LNG will be targeted initially at markets in Central America and the
Caribbean, to replace fuel oil and diesel, currently used for power generation.
The project should also put in place incentives to explore and develop undiscovered
Colombian natural gas resources.
Ronald Pantin, Chief Executive Officer of PRE commented: "We are very excited
with this Agreement, as it opens new markets and fast-tracks monetisation
of the PRE's extensive natural gas reserves." According to Pantin, "This leverages
PRE's strategy to explore and develop its large gas resources in northern
Colombia, and also reinforces our view that Colombia has enough gas resources
to become a reliable LNG supplier for the region."
The Exmar Consortium was selected the preferred bidder to introduce LNG
to Jamaica but that was scrapped last year after the Contractor General raised
several concerns about the bidding process.
Since then, the government has reopened the bidding process but is yet to
select a preferred bidder.
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Colombia
A Changing Colombia
Colombia is considered one of the most politically stable countries in Latin
America with economic growth that is moving the country towards first world
status. There is growing confidence in the economy and a climate of greater
security within the country, both of which are opening the door to foreign
investment and new economic ties. It is important to note that the sanctity
of contracts has always been well entrenched in Colombia.
The turning point for Colombia came in 2002 when the government took a hard-line
stance against pockets of narco-terrorists by pressuring the groups to lay
down arms or disband. Since then, security has improved greatly and foreign
investment continues to grow, particularly in the country’s petroleum industry.
THE ROLE OF OIL
Oil plays an important role in Colombia’s economy, contributing
about 10 percent of the government’s revenues and nearly 30 percent of exports.
Colombia has a well developed infrastructure of refineries, pipelines and
export terminals. Its refineries are operating at capacity, but there are
plans for significant expansion in the future. Over 6,000 kilometres of pipelines
connect major producing fields, centres of high consumption and the export
terminals on two coastlines, the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean. Colombia
is the fourth largest oil producer in South America, however, of the country’s
18 sedimentary basins, only nine currently have commercial production. Production
had fallen from a peak of 800,000 bopd in the 1990s to 526,000 in 2005. Earlier
this decade, faced with the prospect of becoming a net oil importer by 2012,
the government took steps to rejuvenate its oil industry with significant
success. Production had increased to over 800,000 bopd in 2011.
Opening the door to foreign investment even wider in 2004, a new petroleum
fiscal and land tenure regime was introduced, which has become one of the
most attractive in the world. The Agencia Nacionale Hidrocarburos (ANH) was
created to act as the regulatory authority to administer new exploration lands,
and to encourage foreign investment.
The government also committed to a more dynamic oil industry with a move
to privatize 20 percent of Ecopetrol. In 2007 the first 10 percent stake was
sold on the Bogotá Stock Exchange, and in the latter part of 2008,
Ecopetrol listed shares on the New York Stock Exchange providing more flexibility
and autonomy for the state-owned oil company.
RECORD OIL INVESTMENT
A growing number of international companies are pursuing hydrocarbon
exploration in Colombia. More than 150 oil and gas companies are now operating
in Colombia. Total foreign investment in the oil and gas industry now stands
at over $3 billion in 2010, up from $1.8 billion in 2006. Production in the
country has increased close to 300,000 bopd since 2005 to more than 800,000
bopd in early 2011.
SIGNIFICANT POTENTIAL
Colombia has an abundance of light, sweet oil in under-explored
basins. In Colombia, a large heavy oil fairway extends across southern and
eastern portions of the Llanos Basin which is believed to be from the same
La Luna source rock as the massive Faja del Orinoco field in Venezuela where
four projects are currently producing 600,000 bopd. Colombia also has a well
developed infrastructure of refineries, pipelines and export terminals.
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Black Rock Oil Begins
Drilling on Arce Field 2006
Black Rock Oil 6/7/2006
Black Rock Oil reports that drilling operations on the Acre 4 development
well has commenced by its joint venture partner, Kappa Resources Colombia
Limited. The rig arrived on site last week and the Arce 4 well has now been
spudded.
Arce 4 is expected to take 15-20 days to drill, test and complete. Subsequently
the drill rig will be moved to Arce 2 where the gravel pack will be replaced.
In addition, the Company confirms that the steam generator is expected
on site at the Arce field by early July and that preparation is being made
for the steam testing program to commence. Steam injection and production
is a proven technique used in Colombia to increase oil flow by lowering the
oil viscosity and is being use for production in adjacent fields. As set
out in the Company's Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 30 June
2005, the Arce field has estimated recoverable reserves in excess of 5 million
barrels of which the Company has a 50% equity.
Testing is also scheduled on the Baul field within the license area in
the coming months. The Baul well was previously on commercial production but
shut-in in 1961 due to the then prevailing low oil price. If the well is
in good condition, it will be tested with a view to potentially declaring
commerciality during 2006.
Ivan Burgess, Managing Director of Black Rock Oil & Gas plc, commented:
"Our aim remains to book reserves in excess of 2.5 million barrels and
to generate cashflow in the second half of 2006. We are optimistic that the
Arce field will be in commercial production later this year.
"The spudding of Arce-4 represents the first stage of our development,
appraisal and exploration program in 2006 and the Arce steam testing project
should start to generate cash flow for the Company later this year."
Colombia Solana
Gas with Guariquies 2 Well
Solana Resources Limited 6/5/2006
Solana Resources announces the results of the Guariquies 2 well, drilled
as an appraisal well to the Guariquies 1 discovery made in March 2006. The
Guariquies 1 discovery tested oil at commercial rates from the Mugrosa Formation
at approximately 5,000 ft.
Guariquies 2, drilled from the same surface location as Guariquies 1,
was deviated 1,600 feet to the west of Guariquies 1 with the objective of
penetrating a thicker gross sand section at a higher structural elevation
than at the discovery well. Post drilling evaluation of Guariquies 2 confirms
that the target Mugrosa reservoir section was encountered approximately
770 feet higher than at Guariquies 1 and that the gross section was more
than 800 feet thicker than at the discovery.
Guariquies 2 has encountered predominantly gas in the two main sands penetrated
in the well. The lower zone, from 5,953 to 5,982 feet, produced gas though
a 36/64 inch choke at a stable rate of 0.70 million cubic feet per day.
The upper zone, from 4,971 to 5,004 feet produced gas through a 36/64 inch
choke at a stable rate of 0.74 million cubic feet per day and also produced
8 barrels of 24 degree API oil.
The Guariquies 2 well has been suspended and the drilling rig used to
drill the Guariquies 1 and 2 wells has now been released. The Guariquies
1 well is expected to be put on long term test in approximately one month.
Oil produced during the test is expected to be trucked to a receiving point
located approximately 10 kilometers from the well location.
Activity continues to execute the previously proposed plan to continue
to appraise the Guariquies discovery to the north with at least two more appraisal
wells. The first of these, Guariquies 3, is expected to be located 4.6 kilometers
to the north of the discovery. The environmental license for the Guariquies
3 location is in progress.
Solana participates directly in the Shared Risk Contract, with Ecopetrol
and Ramshorn, and paid 37.5% of the costs and will receive 33.75% of the
production of Guariquies 2 and all future Guariquies wells.
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Colombia's ANH Signs 5 Contracts
Worth US$2.6mn 2006
BNAmericas 6/5/2006
Colombia's hydrocarbons regulator ANH signed one E&P contract and
four technical evaluation agreements (TEAs) in May that require total investment
of roughly US$2.6mn, ANH said in a statement.
Canadian oil company Gran Tierra Energy (Nasdaq: GTRE) signed the E&P
contract for the Llanos basin's Primavera block. Gran Tierra will explore
the 146,000ha block during the next six years and invest US$2.05mn in the
first phase.
ANH has now signed 15 E&P contracts this year and aims to increase
the number to 30 by year-end, the statement said. ANH signed one TEA
with the UK's Texican Oil and three with local company Petroleos del Norte.
Texican's TEA is for the Cordillera de Flor Colorada block in the Middle
Magdalena basin. Texican has a year to evaluate the block, with planned investment
of some US$390,000.
Petroleos del Norte signed a TEA for the Tisquirama Occidental block in
the same basin, which covers roughly 3,600ha. The company has eight months
to evaluate the block and will invest some US$36,000.
Petroleos del Norte will also evaluate the La India and Rio Guayabito
blocks, also in the Middle Magdalena. Each block spans roughly 54,000ha
and the eight-month investment plans each call for US$63,000.
ANH has signed 10 TEAs this year.
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Solana Resources Llanos
Drilling Program Good Results 2006
Solana Resources Limited 6/5/2006
Solana Resources announces preliminary results of the three well Llanos
drilling program which began in late March, 2006. The three well drilling
program has resulted in two wells capable of oil production and one well which
is still drilling and which will be tested.
Bonaire 1
The Bonaire 1 well, drilled in the 70% Solana owned Guachiria Norte block,
was spudded on March 31, 2006. This well was drilled to final total depth
of 7,800 feet, logged and casing was run. The rig was released on April
21, 2006 and subsequent operations carried out with a workover rig. The
total cost of drilling, completing and testing the well was approximately
$ 3.5 MM - this compares to a pre drill estimate for a completed and tested
well of $US 5.0 million.
The Bonaire well was tested over two intervals; a lower one from 7,314
to 7,326 feet which produced formation water and an upper one from 7,135 to
7,145 feet which produced oil. The latter produced 20 barrels of high quality
(38 degree API) oil with essentially no water on test after swabbing. A down
hole jet pump was installed in an attempt to establish a sustainable production
rate. As of the time of this update, 8 barrels of oil have been produced
in 13 hours. This is not typical of the sands in the area and additional
studies will be undertaken to determine the reason for the low productivity
and to determine if some form of stimulation might contribute to higher
flow rates. Bonaire 1 is located an all season road approximately 7 kilometres
north of the producing Solana Bucaro 1 well. Any oil produced at Bonaire
1 would be expected to be trucked to Bucaro for processing.
Solana employed the Schlumberger Ecoscope(TM) Logging-While-Drilling system
in the Bonaire 1 well. According to Schlumberger this was the first deployment
of this new technology in Colombia. Its use allowed Solana to drill the
well cost effectively and to obtain better down hole information than possible
with previously existing technology. Solana has also used this technology
in the two wells described below.
Yalea 1
The Yalea 1 well, drilled in the 60% Solana owned Guachiria block, was
spudded on April 28, 2006 with the same rig which drilled the Bonaire 1 well
discussed above. The well reached final total depth of 7,500 feet in 15 days
and was completed as an oil producer. The total cost to drill, complete and
test this well is estimated at $US 3.4 million, compared to a pre-drill estimate
of $US 5.2 million.
The Yalea 1 well was tested with a workover rig from May 27 to June 4,
2006. The Carbonera C4 sands were tested over the interval 6,739 - 6,749
feet and produced high quality (34 degree API) oil. Swabbing of this interval
recovered 144 barrels of oil over a 10 hour period. The well is currently
being completed with a jet pump to initiate commercial production.
The Yalea 1 well is located 1.7 kilometers south of the producing Bucaro
1 well described above and expected oil from Yalea 1 will initially be trucked
to the facilities at Bucaro 1.
Gaviotas 1
The Gaviotas 1 well, drilled on the 50% Solana owned Gaviotas block was
spudded on April 21, 2006 and is currently at a final total depth of 12,802
feet. The well reached the original program total depth of 12,000 feet on
May 17 after 27 days of drilling. An analysis of log and drilling data at
that time indicated that the primary reservoir target in the well, the Mirador
sands, contained oil shows sufficient to warrant testing. Consequently casing
was run to protect these sands. In view of the fact that the Mirador and underlying
Barco formations had been encountered approximately 70 feet higher than expected
it was decided to deepen the well to test other prospective formations; including
the Gacheta which is productive in oil fields near Gaviotas 1.
The cost to drill and complete the well to the programmed total depth
of 12,000 feet was $US 4.2 million. This compares to a pre-drilling cost
estimate of $US 5.9 million. The final well cost, including the cost to
deepen the well beyond its original target depth, is expected to be approximately
$US 5.0 million.
Summary
Solana operates all of the blocks discussed above and paid 40% of the
cost of the Bonaire well, 35% of the cost of the Yalea well and 0% of the
cost of the Gaviotas well with the remainder of the costs being borne by
various farminees. The Guachiria block which contains the Yalea 1 well and
the Gaviotas block which holds the Gaviotas 1 well are held under modified
Association Contract terms by which Ecopetrol, the Colombian state oil company,
agreed to surrender its 30% back in right in exchange for a 13% royalty
in addition to the normal 8% state royalty. The Guachiria Norte block, containing
the Bonaire 1 well is held, under terms of the new ANH contracts which were
introduced in 2004.
The Gaviotas 1 well was drilled with a rig operated by a Colombian contractor,
Pexin. Solana has previously announced a two year agreement with Pexin which
confers on Solana a first right to use this drilling rig at market rates
and with Solana holding the right to mobilize the rig at cost.
The wells described above fulfill the current commitments for Solana on
the Guachiria, Guachiria Norte, and Gaviotas blocks in the Llanos basin. Depending
upon the results of the production obtained from the Yalea and Bonaire wells
and the planned testing of the Gaviotas well additional development wells
may be required on some or all of these discoveries. Solana has completed
extensive 2D seismic surveys on all of these areas within the past six months
and the location of any required follow up wells will based on that seismic
data.
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Gran Tierra Energy Confirms
New Oil Discovery with 2,525 BOPD 2012
Production Test at Ramiriqui-1, Colombia
April 12, 2012
CALGARY, Alberta, April 11, 2012, Gran Tierra Energy Inc. (“Gran Tierra
Energy”) (NYSE Amex: GTE, TSX: GTE), a company focused on oil exploration
and production in South America, today provided updates for its operations
in Colombia.
Colombia
Llanos-22 Block, Llanos Basin (CEPSA 55% WI and Operator, Gran Tierra Energy
45% WI subject to Agencia Nacional de Hidrocarburos approval)
The Ramiriqui-1 oil exploration well in the
Llanos-22 block, located in the Andean foothills trend of the Llanos Basin,
has reached total depth at 19,519 feet measured depth (“MD”) in basement.
Gran Tierra Energy, along with its operating partner Compania Espanola de
Petroleos, S.A.U. (“CEPSA”), has completed initial testing on Ramiriqui-1
by collecting reservoir data and fluid samples from the Mirador formation.
The Mirador formation has 130 feet gross thickness and was perforated and
tested from 17,610 feet to 17,630 feet MD in the uppermost primary reservoir
interval. The interval had natural flow rates, without pumps, of up to 2,525
barrels of oil per day (“BOPD”) gross over 32.5 hours with a 28/64 inch
choke and a 0.12% watercut with 26°API gravity oil. The Ramiriqui-1
well flowed at a restricted rate due to gas flaring limitations.
The partners are currently evaluating options for testing additional
reservoir intervals, drilling of an appraisal well, and implementation of
an early production program.
“We are extremely pleased with the early success of Gran Tierra
Energy’s 2012 exploration drilling program, building on our growing reserves
and production base in the Llanos Basin.” said Dana Coffield, President
and Chief Executive Officer of Gran Tierra Energy. “This is the first of
four exploration wells planned for this year in Colombia, with two in the
Llanos Basin and two in the Putumayo Basin. In addition, one exploration
well in Peru, two exploration wells in Brazil and three exploration wells
in Argentina are planned through the balance of the year.”
Azar Block, Putumayo Basin (Gran Tierra Energy 40% WI and Operator,
Lewis Energy Colombia Inc. 40% WI, Gold Oil 20% WI subject to Agencia Nacional
de Hidrocarburos approval)
Civil construction has commenced for the La Vega Este-1 oil
exploration well. The drilling rig is expected to mobilize from the Costayaco-15
well site to the La Vega Este-1 wellsite and is expected to begin drilling
in late April, 2012. The La Vega Este-1 well is targeting the same Cretaceous
Sandstone intervals present in the Costayaco and Moqueta discoveries.
About Gran Tierra Energy Inc.
Gran Tierra Energy is an international oil and gas exploration
and production company, headquartered in Calgary, Canada, incorporated in
the United States, trading on the NYSE Amex Exchange (GTE) and the Toronto
Stock Exchange (GTE), and operating in South America. Gran Tierra Energy
holds interests in producing and prospective properties in Colombia, Argentina,
Peru, and Brazil. Gran Tierra Energy has a strategy that focuses on establishing
a portfolio of producing properties, plus production enhancement and exploration
opportunities to provide a base for future growth.
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