The story behind Colombia's massive 2014 oil discovery

Over the weekend, Colombian newspaper El Tiempo told the story of the discovery of the Orca 1 field in deep waters off the coast of the Colombian Guajira. The exploratory well discovered the equivalent of 264 million barrels, which made it the largest such discovery in Latin America last year.

According to Petrobras, the oil company that operates the oil field, the team first had to descend 4.2 kilometers into the deep sea, and then drill approximately 3.5 kilometers into the sea floor. Petrobras has a 40% stake in the Orca 1 block, which it owns jointly with Colombian state oil company Ecopetrol and Spanish oil company Repsol. According to El Tiempo, Ecopetrol plans to drill two exploratory wells in the coastal Tayrona block in 2015 and another two or three in 2016.

News of the woes in the Colombian oil industry is even being discussed on Venezuela. El Nacional  reported on Francisco Lloreda’s, the president of the Colombian Petroleum Association, appeals to the central Colombian government to stimulate the country’s oil sector. The author explained that the Colombia oil industry hopes to avoid a situation of decreased exploration that would jeopardize investments that have already been made in the sector, lower operational costs, free up financial resources, and promote difficult or low-margin projects.

                                                                                                           

In other news, Colombian Finance Minister Mauricio Cardenas remains bullish in Colombia’s growth prospects. This puts him increasingly at odds with outside experts, who predict that Colombia’s economy will grow between 3.2% and 3.7% in 2015. Cardenas however forecasts economic growth above 4% for both 2014 and 2015.