Colombian energy outlook based on unconventional oil and gas reserves with projection to 2030

摘要

Colombia is 28th economy in the word, with important resources: 21th crude oil producer in the world with 1004,000 barrels per day, 40th of refined petroleum products: 316,500 million tons, 41th of natural gas: 11,260,000,000 cubic meters, 10th of coal: 85.8 million tons per year. Colombia expects 10 billion dollars in international investment in mining-energy sector in 2013. Colombia nearly doubled crude production during previous seven years. Rising exploration indicators: 131 exploratory wells were drilled in 2012. The goal is increasing reserves/production ratio, today is 7 years, and consequently first challenge is increasing of reoccurring factor. Currently it is about 18-19 percent, so goal is to rise by 10 percent during next 20 years adding more 3 billion barrels of oil reserves by implementation of new technologies such as improved & enhanced oil recovery, which can also be used on recent producing fields, as well as new ways available to redevelop mature fields: new reservoir models, new drilling technologies and surface facilities with investments in old fields, to provide new production and cash flow. To increase transportation capacity will be invest about 5 billion dollars during next years. The bicentenario pipeline will add up 120,000 barrels per day. Currently transportation goes to the Caribbean (Atlantic), project in preliminary stages is a pipeline to the Pacific with 250,000 barrels per day. The second challenge is unconventional oil and gas (shale gas & liquids, tight gas & oil, heavy oil & bitumen, coal bed methane & gas hydrates) exploration and production. Colombia has seven basins of those recourses, the third country after Argentina and Brazil in South America with the highest potential for unconventional reservoirs, presuming the positive investment climate. An analysis of unconventional oil and gas modern trends and future needs in Colombia with projection to 2030 was made in this work.