The Colombian Association of Oil and Gas (ACP) announced the investment plans of the companies that operate in Colombia for 2023, which will be affected by the tax reform that began this year.
total, 5,050 million dollars will be investedan increase of 3.5 percent taking into account the resources announced by Ecopetrol for 2023, but without these resources, the budget of private companies presented a 33 percent drop.
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For exploration activities, 1,240 million dollars will be allocateda decrease of 4 percent compared to the money spent in 2022. 60 percent will be used to search for more natural gas in the country, that is, 740 million dollars.
Regarding the drilling of wells, the companies anticipate that there will be between 55 and 60, of which only one will be offshore (Ecopetrol’s Tayrona block), an area in which the evaluation of wells drilled in 2022 and activities will continue. for new drilling in 2024. In addition, 4,400 kilometers of equivalent seismic will be acquired on dry land.
In production, investments will total 3,810 million dollars, 6 percent higher than in 2022. The focus of these resources will be oilin order to mitigate the natural decline of the fields and increase production to an average of 754,000 to 770,000 barrels per day.
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Natural gas production would be 1,183 million cubic feet per day, an increase of 11 percent compared to 2022, according to the ACP. The investments for this hydrocarbon would be from 300 to 400 million dollars (between 8 and 10 percent of the total).
The president of the ACP, Francisco José LloredaIt should be noted that, without these investments, oil production in Colombia could fall between 110,000 and 150,000 barrels, therefore it is important to maintain or increase investment.
Due to the effects of the tax reform, which established a surtax for oil producers and prohibited the deductibility of royalties from income tax, there will be a cut of 200 million dollars in production investmentswhile in exploration it will stop investing 170 million dollars.
This lower investment is also influenced by the uncertainty that currently exists regarding 2024 and beyond, after the arrival of the government of President Gustavo Petro. In addition, because the National Government has stated that it will not deliver new oil contracts.
What happened in 2022
In 2022, the companies affiliated with the ACP and Ecopetrol invested a total of 4,880 million dollars, an increase of 5 percent compared to what was projected for this year.
In exploration, the investment was 1,290 million dollars. Of this total, 82 percent was for onshore drilling and the remaining 18 percent for offshore operation. Caribbean Sea.
These resources allowed the drilling of 68 exploratory wells, of which 3 were located offshore and 65 in continental areas. It is worth noting that the goal that the National Hydrocarbons Agency (ANH) It was from 65.
In terms of production, investments totaled 3,590 million dollars, in addition there was an average production of 754,000 barrels per day. Although investment grew 37 percent compared to 2021, production only increased by 2 percent mainly due to the natural decline of the fields. In gas, 1,071 million cubic feet per day were obtained.
