Brazil’s Petrobras has made two natural gas discoveries offshore Colombia, which executives at the Brazilian state oil and gas firm said could double Colombia’s gas reserves.
Petrobras on Thursday said that the discoveries at the Uchuva-1 and Uchuva-2 wells, renamed Sirius-1 and Sirius-2, in the Guajira Offshore Basin in Colombia hold the potential of around 6 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of natural gas in place. The discoveries are important for the domestic market in Colombia, which has been struggling with a decline in oil and gas production.
Now the “huge discovery” “has the potential to double Colombia’s reserves,” Petrobras general manager for exploration, Rogerio Soares, said at an oil and gas summit in Colombia, as carried by AFP.
Brazil’s Petrobras, through its Colombian unit Petrobras International Braspetro B.V., is the operator of the wells with a stake of 44.44%, in a consortium with Colombia’s national oil and gas firm Ecopetrol, which holds a 55.56% interest.
The consortium will continue operations to develop the area, in accordance with planning and contractual provisions with the National Hydrocarbon Agency (ANH), Petrobras said in a statement.
However, new studies and tests will be necessary to determine the commercial viability of the reserves, the Brazilian state oil giant said.
In Colombia, Ecopetrol announced in July that natural gas from its Caribbean offshore projects is unlikely to start flowing before 2029, two years later than initially expected. This delay is a significant concern for the country, which anticipates a substantial natural gas shortfall beginning next year. The current supply-demand gap is around 12% and is projected to increase to 30% by 2026, exacerbating the energy crisis.
Petrobras’s announcement of the huge potential of the latest discoveries comes days after Colombia announced plans to fuel its transition away from oil and gas with an investment plan worth $40 billion that should replace revenues from hydrocarbon exports.
Back in 2022, when he came to power, Colombia’s president Gustavo Petro pledged to shift Colombia’s economy away from oil, coal, and gas, in favor of lower-carbon energy alternatives. Colombia also stopped issuing new drilling permits two years ago.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com