Colombia Makes Its Biggest Gas Discovery in Four Decades

The Ministry of Mines and Energy of Colombia confirmed last week a historic gas discovery by the Colombian state-controled petroleum company Ecopetrol and Brazilian firm Petrobras  in its Sirius project.

According to the current Minister of Mines and Energy, Andrés Camacho Morales, “it is a discovery that the country hasn’t seen in 45 years; it’s a historic find, and it will mean a significant backup reserve for the country.”

The well is located in the Tayrona Block, approximately 31km off the coast, and will be operated by Petrobras, which holds a 44.44% stake, while Ecopetrol owns 55.56% of the project.

According to the Presidency of the Republic of Colombia, Petrobras’ initial estimates indicate that production from the Sirius well will begin between 2029 and 2030 with four production wells and an expected output of 13.3 million cubic meters per day over ten years. In the second stage, which would start in 2031, one or two production wells would be added, with a production rate of 15 million cubic meters per day.

An important reserve, but it does not solve gas problems

In September of this year, Colombia’s nine most important energy associations called for measures to be adopted to ensure that the country does not run out of energy in the next two years. In this statement, the associations highlighted the following:

Situation in the Electric Sector

• According to experts in the sector and the Mining and Energy Planning Unit (UPME) itself, by 2026 there would not be enough firm energy supply to cover the entire demand, and from December 2028, if El Niño or droughts occur, there would be energy rationing.
• According to a report by XM, reservoirs reached critical levels in April (below 30%), and there is a risk of hydroelectric energy shortages between December 2024 and January 2025.
• As of today, the system’s usable reservoir level, according to XM, is at 50.19%, a figure below historical averages for this period and 1.1 percentage points below the shortage path.
• Regulatory uncertainty, slow project rollouts, and growing energy consumption demand immediate actions to avoid future energy crises.

Situation in the Gas Sector

• Natural gas is a key contributor to the quality of life for Colombians, with 36 million Colombians having natural gas in their homes today, 84% of whom are families from social strata 1, 2, and 3 (low-to moderate income households).
• Natural gas vehicles (NGV) not only reduce pollutant gas emissions but also lower costs for the transport sector: 87,000 taxi drivers and 1,400 transport operators switched to NGV, as well as public mass transit systems that run on this energy source (100% of the fleet in Cartagena and Valledupar and 30% of the SITP-public feeder buses-in Bogotá). These users depend on the availability of natural gas in their daily lives.
• The most widely used energy source by industries is natural gas, representing 32% of the total energy used by this sector. It is essential in the production of food, glass, oxygen, cement, paper, fats, chemicals, salt, packaging, ceramics, appliances, and more. The lack of natural gas will lead many industries to revert to consuming higher-emission fuels, to plant closures like those producing fertilizers—strategic for the country’s food security—or to the elimination of high-value-added product lines, resulting in employment and inflation consequences.
• The electricity market operator XM identified a significant need for thermal generation, especially natural gas, due to low hydroelectric potential in its latest analysis of the energy landscape.

In a recent statement made by Ecopetrol, the company reached the Cenit-Promigas agreement to ensure gas supply in Colombia.

Above photo: Gas well Orca Norte -1. provided by Ecopetrol