NG Energy Brings Aruchara-6 Online and Spuds Encantado-1X at Its Colombian Gas Blocks

Combined net output climbs toward 29.1 MMcf/d across two blocks

NG Energy International Corp. (TSXV: GASX) (OTCQX: GASXF) (FSE: 56P) said on October 16 that it has drilled, completed and tied in the Aruchara-6 well at its Maria Conchita block in Colombia’s La Guajira department, and that the well is now producing, while a new well has been spudded at the separately operated Sinú-9 block. The Calgary-based producer holds its interests in both blocks through its indirect wholly owned subsidiary, Operadora NG Energy International, S.A. (“Operadora NGE”), which operates in Colombia through a registered branch.

With Aruchara-6 on stream, NG Energy expects total field production at Maria Conchita to rise to 23.0 MMcf/d gross (18.4 MMcf/d net), up from 16.0 MMcf/d gross (12.8 MMcf/d net) before the well was added. The company expects that increase to bring its combined net production across Maria Conchita and Sinú-9 to roughly 29.1 MMcf/d. NG Energy said its net figures for Maria Conchita reflect an 80% working interest held under private agreements, rather than the contractual interest registered with the Agencia Nacional de Hidrocarburos (National Hydrocarbons Agency, or ANH).

“Aruchara-6 has delivered positive gas results and is now tied into our main processing facility and producing, having flowed at up to 8.7 MMcf/d during well testing.” — Jorge Fonseca, chief executive officer, NG Energy International Corp.

Aruchara-6 was drilled to a total depth of 9,352 feet, reaching the H1 target and passing through the H2, H3, H4, H5 and H6 zones, all of which the company said showed gas at surface and on wireline logs. During initial flow testing through the central processing facility (CPF), the well produced at rates of up to 8.7 MMcf/d gross (6.96 MMcf/d net) on a 30/64 choke, at an average tubing head pressure of 780 psi.

NG Energy’s contracted offtake agreements at Maria Conchita cover volumes of up to 15.0 MMcf/d gross. The company said all incremental volumes above that threshold are being sold into the Colombian spot market at average prices of roughly $14.00 to $16.00 USD/Mcf, with some volumes clearing above $20.00 USD/Mcf, which it tied to what it described as a premium pricing environment for Colombian natural gas.

The Aruchara-6 flare during well testing at the Maria Conchita block in La Guajira. (Photo courtesy NG Energy International Corp.)

As field output rises toward the CPF’s 30.0 MMcf/d processing capacity, NG Energy’s infrastructure partner, GTX International Corp., is carrying out a series of upgrades that the company said are designed to increase the facility’s reliability as it operates at or near capacity. The company said an additional compressor will be installed before the end of October to handle the higher volumes, and that GTX is also improving the heat exchangers and the cooling facility, with further work on the dehydration facility expected to be finished by the end of October 2026.

At Sinú-9, where NG Energy is a non-operating partner, Maurel & Prom (Euronext Paris: MAU) operates the block through its local subsidiary, Maurel & Prom Colombia Sociedad Limitada, as operator of the consortium it formed with NG Energy through Operadora NGE. The consortium spudded the Encantado-1X well on October 6 and drilling is underway. NG Energy said the consortium expects to drill at least one further well at Sinú-9 before the end of the year.

Fonseca described Encantado-1X as a well the company considers “important for defining the southern limits of the reservoir, testing a higher-pressure area of the block and confirming the presence of gas in the Pre-CDO formation.” The company said the well is also expected to provide depth calibration across the block and to test for liquids within the reservoir, and that the higher pressure anticipated in the area could support stronger production rates.

On the transport side, NG Energy said commissioning of the first loop of the pipeline from the Jobo connection point, built by its infrastructure partner INFRAES S.A.S E.S.P., is now complete. That work has raised gross transportation capacity at Sinú-9 from 30.0 MMcf/d to between 40.0 and 45.0 MMcf/d, which the company said represents a net entitlement of between 15.6 and 17.6 MMcf/d.

NG Energy produces natural gas in Colombia through two blocks in the country’s north. Maria Conchita, in La Guajira, is held at an 80% working interest; Sinú-9, in the Sinú San Jacinto basin, is operated by Maurel & Prom, which holds a 61% interest against NG Energy’s 39%. The company said that over the past three years it has raised and deployed more than $200 million USD in debt and equity, monetized 40% of one of its assets for $150 million USD in cash, and partnered on the construction of three gathering, processing and treatment facilities and associated pipelines. NG Energy began producing gas at Sinú-9 in late 2024, as Finance Colombia reported at the time.

Headline photo: An aerial view of the Encantado-1X drill site at NG Energy’s Sinú-9 block in Colombia. (Photo courtesy NG Energy International Corp.)