Colombia’s July crude oil output rose to an average 657,000 barrels a
day from 588,000 barrels a day in the same month last year, the
government oil-licensing agency reported on its Web site.
Oil production in July was slightly lower than in June, when output
reached a revised 661,000 barrels a day, the National Hydrocarbons
Agency report said.
Average crude output in the first seven months of the year was 647,000 barrels a day.
Foreign and domestic companies extracted an average 1.04 billion
cubic feet a day of natural gas in July, up from 841 million one year
earlier and higher than June’s revised 1.01 billion million cubic feet,
said the agency, known as ANH.
In 2008, average crude oil output totaled 588,000 barrels a day,
the highest since 2001 when output for the year hit an average of
604,000 barrels a day. In 2000, the country’s output reached an average
of 688,000 barrels a day.
If local consumption and production trends continue and no
significant oil discoveries are made, Colombia will become a net oil
importer by 2016, according to public remarks by President Alvaro
Uribe.
The Colombian government has been actively trying to attract companies to explore for oil. (Dow Jones)