The Ministry of Mines and Energy ("MME") and the National Hydrocarbons Agency ("ANH") published the 2019 Annual Report on Hydrocarbons Resources and Reserves (the "Report"), which, among others, highlights the National Government efforts to reactivate the oil & gas industry in Colombia.
In 2019 and due to the implementation of the Permanent Bidding Process, 31 exploitation and production (“E&P”) contracts were executed, which included a contract for the offshore exploration and production development, and the conversion of 5 technical evaluation contracts to E&P contracts.
Furthermore, the Foreign Direct Investment on behalf of the oil & gas industry for 2019 increased by 11%; it went from 2,540 million dollars to 2,818 million dollars.
Thus, considering the above, the Report, among others, established that:
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Proven oil reserves registered an increase of 4%, as they went from 1,958 million barrels in 2018 to 2,036 million barrels in 2019.
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Hence, the average useful life of crude oil in Colombia increased from 6.2 to 6.3 years, by adding 1.24 barrels to the proven oil reserves for each barrel produced in 2019.
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Similarly, 412 million barrels were incorporated into the crude oil proven reserves, mainly due to the development of enhanced oil recovery projects and heavy crude fields such as Akacías, Quifa Suroeste, Rubiales, Caño Sur Este, Chichimene and Moriche.
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During 2019, oil production reached 323 million barrels, 2.2% more than in 2018.
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The department that contributed the most to the proven oil reserves was the department of Meta with 936.8 MBLS, equivalent to 46% of proven crude oil reserves; followed by the department of Casanare with 413 MBLS, equivalent to 20% of proven crude oil reserves; and the department of Santander with 10% of the total proven oil reserves with 201.9 MBLS.
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On the other hand, proven gas reserves decreased by 16.7%, as it went from 3,782 giga cubic feet (“GPC”) in 2018 to 3,149 GPC in 2019.
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Due to the above, the average useful life of gas reservoirs in Colombia was reduced from 9.8 to 8 years; hence, for each GPC produced in 2019, 0.62 GPC were no longer incorporated into the reserves.
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Even though there was a slight increase in gas consumption in 2019, there were no new additions nor new gas deposits.
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60% of the proven gas reserves are in the Casanare department with 1,894 GPC, followed by the department of La Guajira with 15% of proven gas reserves equivalent to 486 GPC, and lastly in the department of Córdoba with 10% of proven reserves gas with 301 GPC.
Therefore, the MME and the ANH confirm the importance of the oil & gas industry in Colombia in the employment and the economy revival, as well as for energy self-sufficiency of the country, and thus confirms the necessity to continue working in strengthen this industry.
The Report is available in the following link:
https://www.minenergia.gov.co/documents/10192/24193919/04_30_20_
Minenerg%C3%ADa_Reservas+y+perspectivas+petr%C3%B3leo+2020.pdf