Page 9 - LatAmOil Week 06 2020

LatAmOil COLOMBIA LatAmOil
Frontera makes first gas find in Lower Magdalena Valley
CANADA’S Frontera Energy and its partner Parex Resources have made their first natural gas discovery in Colombia’s Lower Magdalena Valley. In a statement, Frontera said the inves- tors had found the gas in an exploration well called La Belleza-1 at the VIM-1 block. The well was drilled to a total depth of 11,680 feet (3,560 metres), it noted.
Toronto-based Frontera and its partner each have a 50% stake in the project. Colombia-fo- cused explorer Parex, which is also Canadian, is serving as operator.
The two companies tested the well over a 328- hour period. During that time, the average flow rate recorded was 2,395 barrels per day (bpd) and 10.7mn cubic feet (303,000 cubic metres) per day of gas, the company added.
“We are excited that the first well with our partner Parex in the Lower Magdalena Val- ley has been a success,” said Richard Herbert, CEO of Frontera. “Testing results from the La Belleza-1 well on the VIM-1 block are very encouraging, especially given the limited capac- ity of the testing equipment on site.”
He added: “Over the course of 2020 and beyond, Frontera will look to increase its natural gas production in the Lower Magdalena Valley, where we have excess gas processing capacity at the La Creciente field.”
In its statement, Frontera also said that it had spudded the Asai-1 exploration well at Colom- bia’s Guama block, also in the Lower Magdalena Valley. The well is expected to take approx- imately 75 days to drill, and results are antici- pated in May, the company said.
According to Herbert, Frontera firm is tar- geting “high impact exploration activities” in Colombia, Ecuador and Guyana this year. The Canadian company has stakes in around 40
PERU
blocks in Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana and Peru. For its part, Calgary-based Parex holds inter- ests in more than 26 onshore blocks in Colom-
bia’s Llanos and Magdalena basins.
The South American country has also suc-
ceeded in attracting larger investors. Last year, foreign majors ExxonMobil, Repsol and Royal Dutch Shell all signed deals for the exploration of new blocks in Colombia after participat- ing in the two auction rounds conducted by the government. Officials in Bogota have said that each bidding round might bring in at least US$500mn worth of investment.™
Odebrecht seeks arbitration for GSP deal
La Belleza lies within the VIM-1 block (Image: Parex.)
THE Brazilian construction company Odebre- cht is taking the Peruvian government to arbi- tration court over a failed $2bn investment in Gasoducto Sur Peruano (GSP), a $6bn natural gas pipeline project.
Odebrecht, which is Latin America’s largest engineering conglomerate, has explained this move by saying it needs the funds for its own
bankruptcy restructuring. The cash-strapped firm, which was once Peru’s top government contractor, claims it needs to recoup the money to pay off debtors, according to Reuters.
The Brazilian firm said in a statement that it remained “completely willing to find a solution together with the [Peruvian] state that will allow for the withdrawal of the arbitration.”
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