Page 7 - LatAmOil Week 31 2022
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LatAmOil                                       COLOMBIA                                            LatAmOil



       Petrobras, Ecopetrol find gas at Uchuva-1






                         BRAZIL’S national oil company (NOC) Petro-  assets. The result achieved increases the pros-
                         bras and its Colombian counterpart Ecopetrol   pects for developing a new frontier of explora-
                         said on July 29 that they had discovered natural   tion and production in Colombia.”
                         gas in Uchuva-1, an exploration well drilled at   The Colombian NOC, in its own separate
                         Tayrona, a deepwater block in the Caribbean Sea   statement, mentioned its own business develop-
                         offshore Colombia.                   ment strategy, as well as its offshore ambitions.
                           According to a Petrobras statement, the part-  “This gas discovery is aligned with Ecopetrol’s
                         ners drilled the Uchuva-1 well at a site about 32   2040 energy transition strategy and increases
                         km from the shore in 830-metre-deep water. The   the prospects for developing a new exploration
                         well is about 76 km away from the city of Santa   and production frontier in the northern Colom-
                         Marta, the company noted.            bian Caribbean,” it said.
                           Neither Petrobras nor Ecopetrol commented   Petrobras is serving as operator of the Tay-
                         on the size of the gas reserves found at the explo-  rona block and owns a 44.4% equity stake in the
                         ration well. However, the Brazilian NOC said   project. Ecopetrol has the remaining 55.6% of
                         that the discovery had occurred because the   equity. ™
                         partners had taken action to optimise the data
                         collected from the block using new geological
                         and geophysical technologies while also build-
                         ing on their experience in deepwater offshore
                         operations.
                           Both companies said they would now con-
                         tinue exploration work at Tayrona for the
                         purpose of determining the size of the newly dis-
                         covered gas reserves. They did not say whether
                         they had set a schedule for further exploration
                         drilling.
                           In  its  statement,  Petrobras  said  it  had
                         invested in the Tayrona project with the aim of
                         “active portfolio management.” It also stressed
                         the potential for establishing a new offshore pro-
                         duction province, saying: “[The] opening of this
                         new frontier is aligned with the company’s stra-
                         tegic pillar of maximising its value with a focus
                         on exploration of deep- and ultra-deepwater   Uchuva-1 was drilled at a site about 32 km from shore (Image: Petrobras)



                                                     VENEZUEL A
       Repsol touts “new dynamic” in relations



       with PdVSA after crude supplies resume






                         SPANISH energy and petrochemical company   from the US and elsewhere from investing in
                         Repsol is exploring a “new dynamic” for its busi-  the Venezuelan oil sector by imposing penalties
                         ness in Venezuela, the company’s CEO Josu Jon   on parties that trade with the national oil com-
                         Imaz announced last week.            pany (NOC) PdVSA and other individuals and
                           His statement, made during a presentation   organisations under Caracas’ control.
                         on Repsol’s second-quarter results, came after   Repsol’s new business approach includes the
                         the US State Department decided to grant spe-  resumption of imports of Venezuelan crude,
                         cial authorisations to European companies,   marking the first time in two years that such
                         enabling them to do business with the South   deliveries have occurred. Imaz described the
                         American state’s oil industry without falling   shift as a positive thing for his company, say-
                         foul of US sanctions. Since early 2019, Wash-  ing: “It seems to me we are entering into a new
                         ington has sought to discourage companies   dynamic relating to Venezuela.”.



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