Gig: Pacific Rubiales and Ecopetrol to explore Alicante Block in Colombia
Duo join in Colombia exploration gig
Canadian-based Pacific Rubiales Energy’s fully-owned subsidiary, Meta Petroleum, has executed an agreement with Colombia’s Ecopetrol to jointly develop the Alicante Block in the Llanos Orientales basin of Colombia.
Under the agreement Ecopetrol will farm out 55% of its working interest rights in the Alicante Block to Pacific Rubiales.
The Alicante Block, which is 20 kilometres east of the City of Villavicencio, was awarded by the National Hydrocarbons Agency of Colombia (ANH) to Ecopetrol in 2006.
Alicante is also next to the Apiay Block, close to existing infrastructure.
Working commitments under this agreement include seismic acquisition during the third quarter of the year and drilling one exploratory well in the second half of 2009.
The block has a total area of 38,684 hectares and is part of the wider strategy that the two companies are executing for the development of heavy crudes in Colombia.
This agreement requires the formal approval of the ANH.
Pacific Rubiales owns 100% of Meta Petroleum, a Colombian oil operator which operates the Rubiales and Piriri oil fields in the Llanos basin in association with Ecopetrol.
The company is focused on identifying opportunities primarily within the eastern Llanos basin of Colombia as well as in other areas in Colombia and northern Peru.
Pacific Rubiales has a current net production of around 21,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, with working interests in the Rubiales, Piriri and Quifa concessions and the Caguan, Dindal, Rio Seco, Puli B, La Creciente, Moriche, Guama, Arauca, Tacacho and Jagueyes blocks in Colombia and blocks 135, 137 and 138 in Peru.