Meta Petroleum of Colombia Begins a $1 Billion Project to Boost Oil Production

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas). According to Colin Crewe, project manager of the Colombian oil company Meta Petroleum (Bogotà, Colombia), Meta Petroleum has begun the basic engineering phase on a $1 billion project to increase production on the Rubiales field in the Llanos Basin region of Colombia. This large oil field would support the production of 100,000 barrels a day of low-viscosity syncrude. This project will also be supplemented with the development of a new 143 mile long, 24-inch diameter pipeline to suffice the transportation of the increased oil production instead of the existing Ocensa pipeline.

The study for the expansion started after investors asked Meta Petroleum to look into increasing production capacity to at least 50,000 barrels per day. The current drilling of new wells has increased the actual production to 12,000 barrels per day from 9,000 barrels per day by the end of 2005; however, the Colombian company will have to shut down wells because pipeline limitations cap the maximum sales at 15,000 barrels per day. Pipeline limitations mean that production is trucked to the domestic market, where it is sold as fuel oil.

Meta Petroleum and its two shareholders, Petrosynergy (Alagoas, Brazil) and Elliot International (UK) are looking for a third partner to shoulder the cost of this $1 billion project, which includes upstream investments such as new wells, disposal, solid handling, and the production of more water treatment facilities. Moreover, the project requires utility upgrades, off site facilities, new infrastructure, and also a pumping station.

Currently, Meta Petroleum is in the process of drilling fifteen wells on the Rubiales field to determine which of them are most effective; however, the Colombian company expects to get crude oil for the first time in January 2010 to boost oil production in the area.

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