The Brazilian oil company Petrobras and the Colombian Ecopetrol reported this Friday that they discovered natural gas during the drilling of the Uchuva-1 deepwater well in the Colombian Caribbean.
It is an accumulation of natural gas in the exploratory well called Uchuva – 1, in a “sheet of water” of around 830 meters.
The Uchuva-1 well is part of the Tayrona block, near the coast of the city of Santa Marta, in which Petrobras has a 44.44% interest and operates it, while Ecopetrol owns the remaining 55.56%.
“This discovery is very significant for Ecopetrol and Colombia because it ratifies the importance of the Caribbean as one of the main sources of gas for our country,” said the President of Ecopetrol, Felipe Bayonquoted in a statement.
Great news for the more than 10 million Colombian families that today use gas in their daily lives,” celebrated the president of Ecopetrol.
According to the companies, data analysis using technological solutions in geology and geophysics was crucial for the discovery.
Drilling began on April 27 of this year, and the final depth of 864 meters was reached on July 16. The drilling was carried out 32 kilometers from the coast and 76 kilometers from Santa Marta, with a water column of approximately 830 meters.
“The result achieved increases the prospects for the development of a new frontier of Exploration and Production in Colombia”, they pointed out.
The contractor will continue the activities of the Tayrona Block with the aim of validating the dimensions of the new gas accumulation,” the document added.
In the country, proven gas reserves recently went from 7.7 years to eight years between 2020 and 2021, which was a setback in a decreasing trend that was observed in 2017. Proven reserves reached 3,164 giga cubic feet, a growth of 7% compared to 2020, the year in which there were reserves of 2.9 giga cubic feet.