A subsidiary of Colombian state-owned oil company Ecopetrol has discovered offshore oil in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.
According a company news release, Logan 1 well is first oil find by Ecopetrol through its U.S. subsidiary. The Gulf of Mexico is one of the region’s with the greatest hydro carbon potential in the world.
Ecopetrol America Inc has 20% participation on the project while the Norwegian company Statoil is the operator. Logan 1 well was drilled by the drill ship Discoverer Americas and operations were completed on October 22.
Assessments are ongoing to determine volumes and commercial viability. The well is located in the Walker Ridge 969 block. The Gulf of Mexico is a focus point in Ecopetrol’s international exploration strategy as it is said to be one of the regions with the highest potential for oil discovery.
Ecopetrol America Inc is participating in 112 blocks in this area in association with companies such as Shell, ENI, BP, Statoil, Repsol and Anadarko.
Javier Gutierrez, president of Ecopetrol said “Ecopetrol is pleased to announce the first discovery in the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico, carried out in association with top level companies with experience in this type of operations.”
“It is a milestone in the internationalization strategy that we started a few years ago in order to diversify our exploration portfolio. Our subsidiary in the United States is in the process of establishing a solid position in the Gulf of Mexico with participation in more than 100 blocks,” said Gutierrez.
According to oil and gas newspaper Upstream, Helge Lund chief executive of Statoil said “we are in the process of completing the Logan well and can confirm that it is a discovery.”
Lund added “It is too early to say anything about the extent of the find and its possible commerciality, but it is in an area where previous discoveries have been made.”