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Ecopetrol and Petrobras must cease drilling an offshore natural gas well, A Colombian judge ordered on Friday. The ruling came after Indigenous blowback regarding consent.
The complaint, made by Indigenous members in the Taganga community, argues that the community's consent wasn't requested before drilling commenced.
The well, known as the Uchuva-2 well, is operated by state-run oil company Petrobras, which has a 44.4% stake. Ecopetrol holds 55.6%,
Colombia's economy is growing increasingly reliant on natural gas imports as its own production slumps, with LNG imports potentially running as much as three times as expensive as it could produce itself. The country's oil and gas industry has been on a downward trend, with its natural gas production averaging 1 bcf/d in March of this year-a figure that was 6% lower than the same month last year.
Its oil industry has been spiraling downward for years as foreign investments in upstream oil and gas operations continue to fall. To top it off, Colombia's proven oil reserves can only support 7 years of operation. Natural gas reserves are even less plentiful and able to carry the country through just 6 more years. Recent natural gas discoveries in Colombia's Caribbean waters, including the Uchuva-1, Kronos-1, Gorgon-1, Purple Angel-1, Gorgon-2 and Glaucus-1 exploration wells, which were heralded as potential game changers have proven disappointing.
Colombia's leftist President Gustavo Petro banned awarding new hydrocarbon exploration contracts last year as part of its commitment to climate change, calling into question its entire economic future.
Last month, the Colombian Petroleum Association said that investments in the country's oil and gas production were set to fall by 7% to $3.5 billion this year. It is expected that exploration spending, however, to rise 5% this year to $1.1 billion-with $700 million of that anticipated to go towards gas exploration.
By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com
Julianne Geiger is a veteran editor, writer and researcher for Oilprice.com, and a member of the Creative Professionals Networking Group. More