Petroleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras) has discovered a natural gas accumulation with the Orca–1 exploratory well drilled on the Tayrona block in the deepwater Caribbean Sea, 40 km offshore La Guajira, Colombia.
The gas accumulation was confirmed at 3,600 m, marking the first discovery in the history of exploratory research in the Colombian Caribbean deep waters, Petrobras says. Drilling concluded in September, reaching a total depth of 4,240 m in 674 m of water.
The company says it will continue with scheduled operations to evaluate the discovery.
The first agreement granted by Colombia’s National Hydrocarbons Agency (ANH) for deepwater exploration in the Colombian Caribbean occurred in 2004, when Petrobras partnered with Colombia’s state-owned Ecopetrol SA for Tayrona (OGJ Online, Aug. 6, 2004).
Ecopetrol is a participating partner in 13 offshore blocks in the Colombian Caribbean. A drilling campaign is planned for this basin that will include two wells in 2015 and two or three additional wells in 2016.
Petrobras is operator of the block with 40% interest. Ecopetrol and Spain’s Repsol SA each hold 30% (OGJ Online, Jan. 5, 2011).
