Ecopetrol, Petrobras Confirm Colombia's Largest Gas Discovery

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Written by Amir Richani for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) (Bogota, Colombia) and Petrobras (NYSE:PBR) (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) have confirmed the discovery of 6 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in the Sirius-2 gas well, located in the offshore block GUA-OFF-0 about 77 kilometers (47 miles) from the coast of Santa Marta, Brazil. The results follow the gas discovery of Sirius-1 in 2022 in the same offshore block.

The asset, owned by Petrobras (44.44%) and Ecopetrol (55.56%), was drilled in June at a depth of 830 meters.

This gas discovery could boost Colombia's natural gas reserves by 200%, which, according to a report by Colombia's National Hydrocarbons Agency on reserves published in May, were 2.37 trillion cubic feet, or about 6.1 years of production.

The replenishing of gas and oil reserves is key for Colombia, which has faced low reserves for years, raising doubts about the country's energy supply. Meanwhile, the government of President Gustavo Petro has been critical of hydrocarbons, promoting and pushing for the development of cleaner technologies.

According to Ecopetrol, the companies will now conduct further studies for the construction of a pipeline to transport the gas from the block to land and the installation of a gas platform.

The owners expect investments for exploration of US$1.2 billion and US$2.9 billion in development, with the expectation to produce natural gas three years after receiving the required licenses, with a launch expected for 2027. They hope to have four productive gas wells with an output of 470 million cubic feet per day for 10 years.

Gas wells Buena Suerte 1 and Papayuela are also expected to be drilled in the GUA-OFF-0 offshore block, according to Ecopetrol's third-quarter presentation.

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