The Ministry of Mines and Energy (Minminas) and the National Hydrocarbons Agency (ANH) announced that during 2017 the oil sector in Colombia is improving its activity, the balance reserve and a greater investment in exploration and production. The improvement in the balance of reserves is an important signal in order to guarantee the self-supply of hydrocarbons in the country, both in the medium and long term.
Growing stocks
In 2017, 312 million barrels of oil were produced, the most important being that, thanks to the efforts of the oil companies and the signals granted by the National Government, 429 million barrels of oil were added, making it possible to reach 1,782 million barrels of stock, (that is, 5.7 years of reserves).For each barrel of crude produced, Colombia incorporated 1.38 barrels in reserves, the highest in the last 3 years.
On the other hand, the average life of gas reserves was 11.7 years, showing an increase compared to the 10.3 observed in 2016. The reserve replacement index was 61%, that is to say, for every Giga Cubic Pie (GPC) of gas produced, 0.61 GPC was incorporated in proved reserves.
More exploration
The activities of the oil industry recovered its dynamism. On the one hand, 578 exploratory and development wells were drilled in 2017, 182% more than the 205 registered in 2016. Likewise, 78 average monthly drills were used in drilling activities in 2017, showing a growth of 179% compared to the 28 used in 2016. The Colombian Petroleum Association (ACP) forecasts that by the end of 2018 the investment in exploration and production will reach US $ 4,5 Billion, 32% more than in 2017.
Intensification of FDI
In 2017 the increase in investment was also very important, investment in exploration and production reached US $ 3,4 Billion, exceeding by 67%, the US $ 2,04 Billion in 2016. The Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the energy sector grew by 25%, from US $ 4,6 Billion to US $ 5,76 Billion.
