Colombia’s crude oil output in August rose to an average 660,000 barrels a day from 603,000 barrels a day in the same month last year, the government oil-licensing agency reported Wednesday on its website.
Oil production in August was slightly higher than in July, when output reached 657,000 barrels a day, the National Hydrocarbons Agency report said.
Average crude output in the first eight months of the year was 648,000 barrels a day.
Foreign and domestic companies extracted an average 1.06 billion cubic feet a day of natural gas in August, up from 872 million one year earlier and higher than July’s revised 1.03 billion 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 had 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 2017, according to public remarks by Mines and Energy Minister Hernan Martinez.
The Colombian government has been actively trying to attract companies to explore for oil.