Judicial order to halt offshore gas ops puts Colombia at risk of energy deficit in 2025, industry associations warn

The Colombian Oil and Gas Association (ACP) and the Colombian Natural Gas Association (Naturgas) have voiced their concern over the ruling, which pulled the plug on natural gas exploration activities conducted in a well offshore Colombia.

Less than a week after a judge at Colombia’s district court of Santa Marta ordered the suspension of drilling operations at the Uchuva-2 well off the coast of Colombia, ACP and Naturgas issued a statement warning of the serious consequences such a decision could have on the entire country’s energy future.

The Uchuva-2 well forms part of the Tayrona Block, located in deep waters 31 kilometers off the coast of Colombia. Last month, Petrobras, as the operator with a 44.44% interest, and Ecopetrol, which has a 55.56% interest, wrapped up drilling operations to substantiate and verify the size of a gas discovery made two years ago when the Uchuva-1 well was drilled using the Development Driller III rig.

According to the joint statement, the exploratory activities were approved by the competent authorities and all regulatory requirements and procedures were followed by the operator.  Furthermore, the execution of the project did not violate the fundamental right to prior consultation of any indigenous community, since ethnic communities were not found to be present in the project’s area of influence.

President of Naturgas, Luz Stella Murgas, noted: “Today Colombia urgently needs to anticipate the development of the projects we have offshore. The Tayrona Block, where Uchuva is located, has a potential of 400 MPCD, an amount that would allow the country to regain self-sufficiency in the medium term. The offshore projects have a potential that can provide Colombia with energy security for several decades, just as Cusiana, Cupiagua, Ballena and Chuchupa did in their time.”

The partners fear that the new discoveries in Colombia are not sufficient to replenish the oil and gas reserves being consumed. Offshore projects have a high prospectivity for gas, which they say is key to reversing the progressive decline of gas reserves in the country, registering a 58% drop since 2012.

Frank Pearl, president of the ACP, underlined: “This project is strategic for the energy future of Colombians. By realizing its potential and that of other offshore projects, we will have the opportunity to reverse the critical decline in natural gas reserves and even multiply them by 30. With current reserves, the country would begin to have a supply deficit starting in 2025; with contingent and prospective resources (including those of Uchuva) we will be able to continue guaranteeing long-term gas self-sufficiency, but this requires exploration and development.”

The reserve replacement rate in the last decade has been 25%, thus, less gas is being discovered than produced since for every 10 cubic feet produced, 2.5 are added. They feel this confirms the need to increase exploration and development of this energy source, as well as to resolve contingencies to increase reserves and production.

“The critical gas supply situation will not be remedied by national supply without the development of offshore projects,” noted Pearl, adding: “decisions that delay or suspend the development of projects such as this one put the energy supply of Colombians at risk and generate uncertainty for investors, which also has fiscal implications for the country and the regions.”

An increase in existing contingent resources of 29% was registered in 2023, most of which came from offshore assets. This is believed to be the result of the work and investments made by companies, but exploration and development are needed to make them viable and incorporate them as reserves.