Ecopetrol, Colombia’s state-run oil and gas company, said on Tuesday that its proven oil reserves and production increased in 2013 yet fell short of its initial production goals.
The company’s produced on average 788,000 barrels per day in 2013 which was a daily increase of roughly 34,000 barrels from 2012 but nonetheless 10,000 less than its daily production goal of 798,000 barrels reported Bloomberg News.
Attacks by rebel groups like the FARC and ELN were blamed as a chief cause in the failure to meet the production target. Attacks by the FARC numbered 259, a 72% increase compared to the year before, according to Bloomberg.
The company saw a 5.1% increase in proven oil reserves in Colombia which equates to a 74% increase in reserves since 2008 according to its 2013 earnings release.
Ecopetrol added that for every barrel of petroleum produced in 2013 it added 1.39 barrels to its proven reserves. The use of past oil reserves remained constant, averaging 8.1 years during 2013.
The 5.1% increase documented in 2013 brought the company’s total proven reserves to a reported 1.972 billion barrels. These new reserves were primarily found in oil fields already under development but are the result of advances in exploratory and recovery technology. It is not immediately clear how quickly the new oil fields will be able to produce oil.
Ecopetrol reportedly represents over 60% of Colombia’s total oil and gas production. It is the fourth largest oil and gas producer in Latin America and is in the top 50 in the world.
Sources
- Ecopetrol Earnings Release (Ecopetrol)
- Ecopetrol Misses 2013 Output Target Amid Transport Constraints (Bloomberg News)
- (CNW) Ecopetrol’s Proven Reserves Reach 1,972 Million Barrels Equivalent (Wall Street Journal)
- Ecopetrol aumentó sus reservas, producción y ventas en 2013 (W Radio)