Colombia expects oil output to remain at 780,000-800,000 bpd in 2021

Colombia expects oil output to remain around 780,000-800,000 barrels per day (bpd) this year, close to the 2020 average, after political turmoil hit some of the country’s producing regions last month, the energy minister said on Tuesday.

Colombia’s oil output, one of the South American nation’s main sources of revenue, fell about 12% last year due to “two shocks” that according to minister of Mines and Energy Diego Mesa have proven to be long-lasting: low global crude prices and collapsing demand.

Even though oil prices have since recovered, political protests across Colombia interrupted output in the second quarter.

“Because we had those blockades (at oilfields) during May, our production rates will suffer for 2021,” he said, in an interview for the upcoming Reuters Global Energy Transition conference.

“The production goal we had set up for 2021 is a little bit ambitious and optimistic at the moment. I think something between 780,000 and 800,000 bpd probably is more realistic,” he added.

Investment in Colombia’s oil and gas industry fell 49% to $2.05 billion in 2020, the lowest since 2016, as the coronavirus pandemic slashed demand. The country’s private producers association in January said investment is expected to rise this year, although output would remain below pre-pandemic levels.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Marianna Parraga in Mexico City, Editing by Nick Zieminski)