By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, July 26 -- State-owned Ecopetrol of Colombia selected a unit of Occidental Petroleum Corp. from among eight companies in late 2005 to implement enhanced oil recovery in giant La Cira and Infantas oil and gas fields in the Middle Magdalena Valley basin.
The three-phased project would involve workovers and reactivation of idle wells, infill and horizontal drilling, waterflood redevelopment, and possibly gas and steamflooding in various parts of the fields, Ecopetrol said.
An initial investment of $80 million by Oxy is required to conduct several pilot tests to determine feasibility. Ecopetrol will remain operator, with Oxy's Occidental Andina unit providing the technical expertise.
Oxy would recover 80 million net bbl of oil reserves at full development. Net production would rise to 20,000 boe/d by 2010 from about 5,400 b/d in late 2005.
The fields are the oldest in Colombia. OGJ data show that Infantas was discovered in 1921 and La Cira in 1923. The fields produce 23-27° gravity crude from 2,000-3,000 ft and have more than 1,700 producing wells.
The fields, on the south side of Barrancabermeja, have cumulative production of about 800 million bbl of oil.
