LatAmOil: Petrobras eyes natural gas prospects offshore Colombia

Brazil’s national oil company (NOC) Petrobras is venturing into promising offshore areas along Colombia’s coast, with plans to drill this year that could lead to the development and export of significant natural gas reserves.

Joelson Mendes, Petrobras’ chief exploration and production officer, identified Colombia as a new exploration frontier for Petrobras. Speaking at the CERAWeek energy forum in Houston, he said Petrobras was teaming up with its Colombian counterpart Ecopetrol to drill two new wells at the offshore Tayrona block, where a gas find was made at the Uchuva-1 well in 2022.

The evaluation of these wells is expected to be completed by early 2025, after which Petrobras will consider the project’s scope and submit it to the company’s board for approval, Mendes said. If approved, initial gas production could commence earlier than the previously targeted date of 2029.