Petrobras announced this Thursday (5) the discovery of the largest gas reserve in Colombia’s history. The giant Sirius-2 well, explored in a consortium with Ecopetrol, the neighboring country’s state oil company, is located on the Colombian equatorial margin and has a capacity equivalent to almost half of Petrobras’ daily gas production in Brazil.
The consortium’s calculations indicate that gas volumes at the site exceeding 6 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) in place (VGIP) were confirmed. The discovery could increase Colombia’s current reserves by 200%.
This volume is equivalent to the production of 13 million cubic meters of gas per day (m³/day) for ten years. For comparison purposes, Petrobras injects 30 million to 35 million m³/day into the Brazilian market. The volume is three times the capacity of the Mexilhão field, in the Santos Basin, one of the main gas producers in Brazil.
Another comparison is that in Bolivia, where Petrobras also operates in gas prospecting, production is 30 million m³/day, of which 12 million m³/day are imported to Brazil.
However, the director of Exploration and Production at Petrobras, Sylvia Anjos, explained that, initially, production will be aimed at supplying the demand of the Colombian domestic market.
“We do not intend to export. It will stay here, there is a huge demand in Colombia”, said the director, in a video conference with journalists, directly from the Colombian capital, Bogotá.
Good Luck and Papayuela
The director added that two other wells in the region – Buena Sorte and Papayuela – are in the consortium’s exploration line, which raises expectations that there will be surplus production, and Brazil will be able to import gas from Colombia.
“We are quite optimistic that this volume will increase. By significantly increasing the volume, it makes exports viable”, stated the director. “Fingers crossed, wanting more gas to spare a little for Brazil”, he joked.
The reservoir is located in the Caribbean Sea, 77 kilometers from Santa Marta, capital of the department of Magdalena, in the north of the country. The well began to be drilled on June 19, 2024, in a offshore block identified as GUA-OFF-0, at a water depth – the distance between the water surface and the seabed – of 830 meters.
Through the Petrobras International Braspetro BV branch, the Brazilian state-owned company holds a 44.44% stake in the consortium, with Ecopetrol holding 55.56%.
The consortium estimates investing US$1.2 billion (R$7.2 billion) for the exploratory phase and US$2.9 billion (R$17.4 billion) in the production development phase. The amount to be waived by Petrobras corresponds to the state-owned company’s participation in the consortium and is already foreseen in the company’s 2025-2029 business plan.
“The expectation is to begin natural gas production in three years after receiving all environmental licenses and in case of confirmation of the commercial viability of the discovery”, says a statement from the Brazilian oil company.
Environmental license
Asked about the biggest challenge in completing the operation, director Sylvia Anjos stated that it was obtaining the environmental license. “The environmental license is a problem.”
The CEO of the Colombian branch of Petrobras, Rodrigo Costa, explained that the regulatory framework in the country provides for so-called prior consultations with communities involved in some way with the exploration area.
These consultations precede the assessment by the National Environmental Licenses Authority (Anla) – equivalent to our Brazilian Institute of the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (Ibama) – of the environmental impact study, which culminates in the issuance of the license.
“This prior consultation stage will involve, here in our reality, 116 communities. This process is already underway,” he said. “This is where we have the uncertainty of time. It may take longer or it may take less, because there is a need to reach agreements with all these communities in relation to the reality that the project brings to them”.
After this stage, the environmental impact study is made available for evaluation by Anla. “Then we already have better clarity. The deadline is between six and seven months. So we hope to complete this process between 2025 and 2026”, estimated Rodrigo Costa.
Equatorial margin
The region where the Sirius-2 well is located can be understood as part of the equatorial margin. “Yes, we can consider it to be an equatorial margin”, stated Sylvia Anjos.
The equatorial margin has made headlines in recent years for being treated as a new and promising frontier for oil and gas exploration. Recent oil discoveries off the coasts of Guyana, French Guiana and Suriname have shown the exploration potential of the region, located close to the Equator.
In Brazil, it extends from Rio Grande do Norte, and continues to Amapá. Petrobras has 16 wells on the new exploratory frontier, however, it only has authorization from Ibama to drill two of them, on the coast of Rio Grande do Norte.
The exploration is criticized by environmentalists, concerned about possible environmental damage. Ibama denied the license for other areas, such as the Foz do Amazonas Basin. Petrobras asked the institute, linked to the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change (MMA), for a reconsideration and is awaiting a decision.
THE Petrobras insists that oil production from the equatorial margin is a strategic decision so that the country does not have to import oil.
Petrobras in the world
Colombia is one of the five countries – in addition to Brazil – in which Petrobras develops exploration and production of oil or natural gas. The remaining operations are in South America, North America and Africa.
In Argentina, through the subsidiary Petrobras Operaciones SA, the company holds a 33.6% stake in the Rio Neuquén production asset.
In Bolivia, it produces gas mainly in the San Alberto and San Antonio fields, with a 35% interest in each of these service operation contracts, which are operated mainly to supply gas to Brazil and Bolivia.
In the United States, operations take place in fields in deep waters in the Gulf of Mexico, with a 20% stake held by Petrobras America Inc., forming the MPGoM joint venture with Murphy Exploration & Production Company.
On February 8, 2024, Petrobras concluded the acquisition of stakes in three exploration blocks in São Tomé and Príncipe, a country on the west coast of Africa. The operation marked the resumption of exploratory operations on the African continent, with the aim of diversifying the portfolio, and is in line with the state-owned company’s long-term strategy.
