Ecopetrol SA assumed direct operation of Colombia's giant Cupiagua and Cupiagua Sur fields in the Llanos basin as of midnight June 30, following 28 years of joint operation with BP PLC affiliates and others.
The fields are located in the Aguazul municipality in Casanare Province, a major exploratory region in Colombia.
Ecopetrol will now have sole operation of the fields, following the almost three decades of joint operation and the expiration of the Santiago de las Atalayas Association Contract in which Ecopetrol held 50% of the production interest, BP Exploration Co.-Colombia and BP Santiago Oil Co. held 31%, and Tepma held the remaining 19%.
BP's operations
BP will continue to operate the northern section of giant Cusiana field, which had also been governed by the Santiago de las Atalayas Association Contract, until 2016 when the Tauramena Association Contract expires, under joint agreement with Ecopetrol.
Cupiagua and Cupiagua Sur fields are averaging 26,000 b/d, which will help meet Ecopetrol's goal of increasing production 12%/year and producing 1 million b/d of oil equivalent by 2015.
Together with Cusiana, Cupiagua and Cupiagua Sur fields were the largest finds made in Colombia and among the world's largest discoveries in the 1990s. The fields produce light crude, which Ecopetrol noted is in large demand on the international market.
BP in late 1992 disclosed that Cusiana field contained an estimated 1-3 to 2 billion bbl of oil and condensate and 2-3 tcf of gas. The company and its partners, Total SA and Triton Energy Corp., also discovered Cupiagua field with reserves around a third the size of those at Cusiana (OGJ, Oct. 26, 1992, p. 24).
Cusiana was the largest discovery BP had made for more than two decades. Cusiana and Cupiagua, 15 km apart and 160 km north of Bogota, were declared commercial in May 1993. Cusiana began commercial production in late 1994.
More gas facilities
The startup of sole operations by Ecopetrol calls for a 12-point increase from 20% to 32% in royalty payments from basic production, as set forth in Law 756 of 2002. Also, the province and municipality will increase the amount of resources they receive for development.
A year and half before expiration of Santiago de las Atalayas Association Contract, Ecopetrol and BP initiated joint operations designed to provide continuity to the various processes involved in operating the field and maintain operational excellence.
BP and Ecopetrol will continue as partners, with BP as operator, in the contracts governing Cusiana, Florena, Recetor, Volcanera, and Pauto fields. The joint operations there are scheduled to end between 2016 and 2020.
Ecopetrol expects to invest $28 million this year in the drilling of a new well at Cupiagua and will invest a further $284 million in the Gas Cusiana facility to increase the gas treatment capacity of this facility by 70 MMcfd and natural gas liquids production by 6,900 b/d.
The Colombian state oil company also plans to build a new gas facility at Cupiagua field with an initial capacity of 140 MMcfd and a projected ultimate capacity of 210 MMcfd.
More Oil & Gas Journal Current Issue Articles
More Oil & Gas Journal Archives Issue Articles
View Oil and Gas Articles on PennEnergy.com