Colombia seeks to double oil reserves by 2020: hydrocarbons agency

Bogota (Platts)--7Jul2006

Colombia is counting on discovering 4 billion barrels of crude in new
reserves by 2020 to assure its oil self-sufficiency, according to the director
of the National Hydrocarbons Agency, or ANH.

To reach that goal, which would more than double the country's current
proven reserves, ANH chief Armando Zamora said Colombia has set an annual goal
to sign 30 exploration and production contracts, and to "promote the
perforation of about 60 wells per year," which should translate to an average
of 10 discoveries.

Zamora made the comments at the International Mining, Oil and Gas
Congress on Thursday being held in the northern coast city of Cartagena. His
comments were published in an ANH statement released Friday.

"We have found viable options to clear the future; it is essential that
we maintain the policy of exploration and production, and that we diversify
the sources of fuels," Zamora said.

The government of Colombia is promoting private investment in exploration
to raise the country's oil output. The country's 1.5 billion barrels of known
oil reserves are depleting rapidly and officials predict that barring any new
major discoveries, the country will become a net oil importer by 2011. Oil
production has dropped from a peak of 815,000 b/d in 1999 to a current average
of 538,000 b/d.

Huge swathes of potentially oil-rich territory has remained unexplored in
Colombia, which shares many of the geological features of its neighbor,
Venezuela.

Colombia has awarded 21 new E&P contracts this year.

--Sibylla Brodzinsky, newsdesk@platts.com

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