Ecopetrol makes new oil find in Colombia

Bogota, Dec 15 (IANS/EFE) State-owned Empresa Colombiana de Petroleos, or Ecopetrol, said it found oil at a new well in central Colombia, raising the number of new petroleum discoveries this year to seven.

The well is located in Meta province and is included in the Cao Sur exploration and production contract, the company said in a statement Tuesday.

“The interests in the Cao Sur contract are divided up in equal shares between Ecopetrol, which is the operator, and Shell Exploration and Production Colombia Cao Sur GMBH,” Ecopetrol said.

Drilling samples from the new well and the Mago-1 well, whose status was reported on in early November, confirm the hydrocarbons potential in the eastern region of Meta, where the Rubiales and Quifa fields are also located, Ecopetrol said.

Exploration work will continue next year in the Cao Sur block in an effort to evaluate the field’s potential and production conditions, the oil company said.

Ecopetrol is Colombia’s largest firm and one of the world’s 40 largest oil companies.

Ecopetrol owns Colombia’s largest refinery, accounts for more than 60 percent of domestic oil production and has exploration and production operations in Brazil, Peru and the US waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

–IANS/EFE