Petrobras’ discovery could double Colombia’s natural gas reserves

Brazil’s Petrobras has made two natural gas discoveries off Colombia that executives at Brazil’s state oil and gas company said could double Colombia’s gas reserves.

Petrobras said Thursday that discoveries from the Uchuva-1 and Uchuva-2 wells, renamed Sirius-1 and Sirius-2, in Colombia’s offshore Guajira basin hold a potential of about 6 trillion cubic meters (Tcf) of natural gas in place . The findings are important for Colombia’s domestic market, which is experiencing a decline in oil and gas production.

Now, the “huge discovery” “has the potential to double Colombia’s reserves,” Petrobras’ general manager for exploration, Rogerio Soares, told an AFP-supported Colombia oil and gas summit.

Brazil’s Petrobras, through its Colombian unit Petrobras International Braspetro BV, is the operator of the wells with a 44.44% stake in a consortium with Colombia’s national oil and gas firm Ecopetrol, which holds a 55.56% stake .

The consortium will continue development operations in the area, in accordance with planning and contractual provisions with the National Hydrocarbons Agency (ANH), Petrobras said in a statement.

However, further studies and tests will be needed to determine the commercial viability of the reserves, the Brazilian state oil giant said.

In Colombia, Ecopetrol announced in July that natural gas from its offshore projects in the Caribbean was unlikely to start flowing before 2029, two years later than originally expected. This delay is a significant concern for the country, which anticipates a substantial shortage of natural gas starting next year. The current gap between demand and supply is around 12% and is expected to increase to 30% by 2026, exacerbating the energy crisis.

Petrobras’ announcement of the huge potential of its latest discoveries comes days after Colombia announced plans to fuel its transition away from oil and gas with a $40 billion investment plan that should replace revenues from hydrocarbon exports.

In 2022, when he came to power, Colombian President Gustavo Petro pledged to move Colombia’s economy away from oil, coal and gas in favor of low-carbon energy alternatives. Colombia also stopped issuing new drilling permits two years ago.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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