Home / Oil & Energy / Oil & Companies News / Colombia’s proven oil reserves tick up slightly to 7.5 years worth

Colombia’s proven oil reserves tick up slightly to 7.5 years worth

Colombia’s proven oil reserves grew slightly over the past year, the oil regulator announced on Wednesday, to reach 7.5 years-worth of consumption, as the country looks to certify more drilling targets, especially from offshore fields.

The 2022 proven reserves totaled 2.074 billion barrels, up 1.7% from the previous year, or by about 35 million barrels,according to the data released by sector regulator ANH.

Total oil production last year, meanwhile, reached around 275 million barrels, or some 753,000 barrels per day (bpd).

So far this year, oil output is up almost 3% at about 773,000 bpd.

While Colombia’s oil industry remains an important source of revenue, leftist President Gustavo Petro has pledged to shift away from fossilfuels, including oil and coal, to more green energy.

The government is expected to decide soon on new exploration contracts, needed to add new discoveries to replace aging fields. In his successful campaign last year, Petro opposed contracts to prospect for new oil deposits.

Unlike the oil reserves, proven natural gas reserves at the end of last year edged down, dropping slightly to reach 2.82 trillion cubic feet (Tcf), or equivalent to 7.2 years of consumption, the ANH data showed.

Gas production for the year totaled 0.39 Tcf.

Mines and Energy Minister Irene Velez pointed to 2022’s improved recovery factor – a rate that measures how much oil can be extracted from a well – which increased to 23%, from 21% in 2021.

“We will continue working with the hydrocarbons sector so offshore projects materialize,” said Velez, as quoted in the ANH statement.

In March, the chief executive of state-controlled oil company Ecopetrol, Felipe Bayon, told Reuters that promising offshore developments could help Colombia avoid the need for Venezuelan gas imports and possibly even lead to exports by the end of the decade.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Luis Jaime Acosta; Writing by Sarah Morland; Editing by David Alire Garcia and Diane Craft)

Recent Videos

Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide Online Daily Newspaper on Hellenic and International Shipping