LatAmOil: Petrobras confirms major gas discovery in Colombia

Brazil's state-owned oil company Petrobras has announced a pair of significant gas discoveries in the Guajira Basin offshore Colombia.

The discoveries, made in the Uchuva-1 and Uchuva-2 wells, now renamed Sirius-1 and Sirius-2, highlight the area's potential for Colombia's gas market. Further studies are required to assess the commercial viability of these reserves, but Sirius represents the largest discovery made offshore Colombia, with the potential to double the country's reserves, according to comments made by Petrobras' exploration manager, Rogerio Soares.

"The initial conception of Sirius ... foresees the first offshore gas in 2029 to 2030 with four producing wells and an expected production of 13.3mn cubic metres (470mn cubic feet) per day for 10 years," Soares was reported as saying at the Colombian Petroleum Association's (ACP) forum on oil, gas and energy in Cartagena.

Initial estimates suggest that the Sirius project could have more than 6 trillion cubic feet (170bn cubic metres) of gas in place. Soares said that total investment in developing the project could reach around $5bn, with $2bn allocated to exploration and $3bn to production development.

A potential second phase of the project could start in 2031 and could include the previously planned development plus one or two other wells, and could see gas flows of 15 mcm per day from first gas, according to Soares.

Ecopetrol, the Colombian partner in the consortium, operates the Tayrona block, where another notable gas deposit was identified in the Papayuela well. This deposit is thought to have the potential to produce up to 22.7 mcm per day of gas, meeting around 80% of Colombia's current demand. This project may take 5-7 years to begin production.

As Colombia faces an impending gas shortfall, the government has restricted new drilling licences, complicating efforts to expand gas supplies.

In response, Ecopetrol has announced plans to convert the Central Oil Pipeline to facilitate gas transport from the Caribbean coast to the interior, offering a critical alternative for the nation's energy infrastructure.

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