Petrobras makes gas discovery offshore Colombia

Brazil’s national oil company Petrobras has made a gas discovery at the Orca-1 well, located 40 kilometers north of the coast of Guajira province, offshore Colombia.

According to Ecopetrol, a partner in the discovery, this is the first discovery in deep waters of the Colombian Caribbean.

The Orca-1 well was drilled within the Tayrona block and has as its operating company Petrobras, with a 40% stake, in partnership with Ecopetrol (30%) and Repsol (30%). The Tayrona block was the first contract granted in 2004 by the National Hydrocarbons Agency (Agencia Nacional de Hidrocarburos) for exploration in the Colombian Caribbean.

The well reached the expected depth of 13,910 feet (4,243 meters), in water depth of 2,211 feet (674 meters). Drilling was completed in September and showed the accumulation of natural gas at a depth of 12,000 feet (3,657 meters).

Ecopetrol says that Orca-1’s results confirm the hydrocarbon potential of this Colombian frontier basin and demonstrate the capacity of the petroleum system in the deep part of the offshore basin.

Following completion of this phase of exploration and initial tests, in-depth technical studies will begin to determine gas potential of the discovery.

Ecopetrol is currently a participating partner in 13 offshore blocks in the Colombian Caribbean. A drilling campaign is planned for this basin that will include two wells in 2015 and two or three additional wells in 2016 with its partners.

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