Lloyd’s Register in well management deal offshore Colombia

Lloyd’s Register’s well management expertise is being used by Ecopetrol Costa Afuera S.A.S. (ECAS), an affiliate company of Colombia’s national oil company Ecopetrol, for offshore exploration drilling operations in Colombia. 

ECAS is contracted with Lloyd’s Register (LR) to provide wells project management services to drill the Molusco-1 exploration well offshore Colombia.

The Molusco prospect is inside Block RC-9, operated by Ecopetrol along with partner India’s ONGC Videsh. The drilling started in September, LR said on Thursday.

The project is being delivered over a nine-month period and includes specialist technical and project management expertise covering drilling well management, well engineering, in-country logistics, safety and operations supervision.

LR’s Vice-President of Wells, Matt Rothnie, says: “The Molusco-1 project marks a significant milestone for ECAS as it is the first offshore drilling project the company will deliver as operator. The company elected to outsource well management support to provide a high level of assurance that is seeing the Molusco-1 project developed using the latest technical insight to help ECAS operate with confidence.”

Rothnie highlights: “Our experience in managing well operations in remote locations and supporting new country start-ups, was a key decision factor for ECAS in deciding to choose LR for their project.”

Ecopetrol is the largest and primary petroleum company in Colombia, where it accounts for 60% of total production.