Ecopetrol and Repsol revealed that the Tinamú exploratory well, located in the municipality of Castilla La Nueva (Meta), presence of heavy oil (16° API), which is characteristic of this hydrocarbon-producing area of Colombia.
The discovery is located in block CPO-9 where ecopetrol is an operator and has
a 55 percent stake, while its partner Repsol retains the remaining 45 percent.
(Also read: Colombia’s oil and natural gas reserves reach for fewer years)
The well through which the discovery was made discovered a total depth of 7,832 feet (approximately 2.4 kilometers) and tested for hydrocarbons in the operating K1 formation, at a depth of 7,500 feet (approximately 2.2 kilometers) from surface.
In development of the initial tests, a total of 7,329 barrels of crude with a 1 percent water cut. Ecopetrol will also highlight that during the drilling work there were no accidents or environmental incidents.
Companies submit an assessment plan to the National Hydrocarbons Agency (ANH)after which an extensive testing phase will begin in order to determine the potential and size of the new deposit.
(Also read: The alarms that go off due to the low reserves of gas and oil that the country has)
This well has a strategic location because it is close to the Ecopetrol fields: Castile and Chichimene in the department of Meta, where a large part of Colombia’s oil production is extracted.
According to Ecopetrol, this feature makes it possible to take advantage of the existing oil infrastructure in the area to facilitate future development of the oil discovery.
“Ecopetrol and Repsol are committed to continue searching for new oil and gas reserves to guarantee the energy security of Colombians. The Tinamú discovery is one more step in achieving that objective2, said Ricardo Roa, president of Ecopetrol.
(Also read: Negative effects of stopping oil exploration in Colombia)
This new finding comes only a few days after the ANH revealed that Colombia’s self-sufficiency in oil fell to 7.5 years at the end of 2022, when a year ago it was 7.6 years.
Proven reserves are 2,074 million barrels, which means that there was an increase of 1.7 percent, since in 2021 they were 2,039 million barrels. The department of Meta concentrates 54 percent (1,122 million barrels) of the total reserves.
