Ecopetrol Discovers Gas in Caribbean at Gorgon-1 Exploratory Well

Ecopetrol today announced a new discovery of natural gas in the Colombian Caribbean. According to the state-controlled oil and gas company, which has a 50% stake in the well, the Gorgon-1 exploratory well has shown the presence of deepwater gas intervals ranging from 80 to 110 meters.

The offshore well, drilled by the Bolette Dolphin vessel at a depth of up to 4.4 kilometers below water and some 1.3 kilometers below the seabed, is located in the same geological area as the previously found Kronos field, which is home to the Purple Angel-1 well that recently confirmed an extension of this field.

The first discovery in the area involving Ecopetrol came from the Kronos-1 well in August 2015. Gorgon-1 sits about 27 kilometers north of Purple Angel-1.

There are now a total of four blocks in this area (Purple Angel, Fort South, Fort North, and Col-5), all of which are operated by Texas-based Anadarko Petroleum Corporation. Ecopetrol holds a 50% stake in each of the blocks, which collectively span nearly 15,000 square kilometers.

Given the proximity of the finds to one another, Ecopetrol believes it may be possible to extract the resources more efficiently and profitably by sharing production facilities across the various projects. The company says it will continue to study the underlying conditions to gauge the feasibility of this idea.

“We are pleased to be able to announce this third discovery in the southern Colombian Caribbean,” said Juan Carlos Echeverry, president of Ecopetrol. “The results confirm that Colombia can count on a new area for the production of gas, a clean fuel with growing demand in the international market. This discovery will be important for the future of Colombia’s gas supply. The exploratory successes of the Caribbean are part of Ecopetrol’s strategy that, since 2017, has focused on increasing hydrocarbon reserves.”

In its 2017 budget, Ecopetrol more than doubled its planned investment in exploration compared to 2016. “Investment in exploration will rise from $280 million USD to $650 million USD, thus increasing offshore wells from two to six and onshore wells from five to 11 from 2016 to 2017,” said Echeverry earlier this year.

Image credit: Ecopetrol