Brazilian state-run oil company Petrobras and its Colombian counterpart Ecopetrol could have the licenses needed for moving forward a joint offshore gas project in Colombia by mid-2026, said Orlando Velandia, head of Colombia's hydrocarbons regulator.
Some 6 trillion cubic feet (TCF) of natural gas reserves have been confirmed, making the project commercial. The partners plan to finish drilling a new well this year, while planning its development. An environmental license and a social license are needed before beginning the construction of infrastructure.
The project and other areas on Colombia's side of the Caribbean Sea will be key for helping the Andean country reduce a gas deficit that has required imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and plans to optimize the use of natural gas by the country's largest consumers.
"If we are able to optimize the prior consultations that we may finish this year and obtain the environmental license in the middle of next year, that gives us a final horizon to have everything for the gas line toward the end of 2028 or 2029, and begin production," Velandia said on the sidelines of the CERAWeek conference in Houston, referencing the Tayrona block, operated by Petrobras.
Some 13 million cubic meters per day of gas output from the project will be supplied to Colombia via the pipeline, Petrobras' head of exploration and production, Sylvia dos Anjos, said at the same conference earlier this week.
Despite the gas deficit, the country does not see the need to open a new bidding round for offshore areas, Velandia said, as many onshore and offshore blocks previously awarded are expected to move from exploration to production in coming years, securing supply.
Meanwhile, Colombia is working to expand its capacity to receive LNG imports through floating regasification facilities, he added.
(Reuters - Reporting by Marianna Parraga, Writing by Julia Symmes Cobb; Editing by David Gregorio)