Discovering Colombia’s untapped oil and gas potential

Colombia

Madhukar Mohan, ONGC Videsh’s country manager for Colombia, talks to The Energy Year about the company’s exploration and production activities in Colombia and the importance of block CPO-5 for its production portfolio. ONGC Videsh is a wholly owned subsidiary and overseas arm of ONGC, the national oil company of India.

How would you describe ONGC Videsh’s exploration and production activity in Colombia?
We have been in Colombia for close to two decades, since 2008, contributing to the energy security of the country. We are present in our MECL [Mansarovar Energy Colombia Limited] joint venture, where we each, ONGC Videsh and SIPC [Sinopec International Petroleum Exploration and Production Corporation], have a 50% participating interest.
Apart from this, we have a 50-50 partnership with Canacol Energy in Block SSJN7, located in the onshore Sinú-San Jacinto Basin. However, we are exiting this play. We are also present in Block RC-10 and Block GUA-OFF-2, which are in offshore Guajira.
Lastly, we have our CPO-5 asset, which is the most important one in our portfolio. This block is largely untapped. We have only explored about 30% of this play. Therefore, in March 2024 we completed a seismic survey in the northeast region of the block. We are now processing and interpreting the data, and by March 2025, we will better understand the potential in this area of the block.
Our current production between all our assets for CPO-5 is around 25,000 bopd, and MECL is producing about 4,000 bopd. Our daily revenue is close to USD 2 million from the CPO-5 block. The offtaker of our crude is Vitol, with whom we have a three-year contract. We are currently the fifth-largest producer in the country, and we expect to hit 35,000 bopd in 2025.

How important is the CPO-5 block for ONGC Videsh’s production portfolio?
Block CPO-5 is our most important asset in Colombia. We are operators, with 70% ownership, while GeoPark holds 30%. Located in the southwestern part of the Llanos Basin, it comprises an area of 1,992 square kilometres.
In this block we made a discovery at the Urraca-IX well in 2022, working hand in hand with GeoPark. In this play we have our most prolific producing fields, which are Mariposa and, most importantly, Índico. At present, we have drilled seven wells in Índico, which have very good quality light oil with an API of 39.
In this same block, we have the CPH [Cisne, Perico and Halcon] pad. There, we spudded the Halcón-1X exploration well in September 2023, targeting the exploration potential of the Guadalupe formation in the northern part of the CPO-5 block, which is close to the southern part of the Llanos 34 block.
Today the Halcón-1X well is producing heavy oil in addition to our Perico-1X well. We have been producing heavy crude from this pad, with a combined production of about 1,000 bopd from these two wells. Our total production of approximately 30,000 bopd comes from the CPO-5 block and from Velásquez (under MECL).
Our partnership with GeoPark in this block is very important. They are from this region, which means that their understanding of the geography, the local communities and the government is critical. They are great partners when it comes to operational procedures, and it is a win-win situation for us both. If, for example, our supplier is having issues providing equipment or services, GeoPark is always there with the resources we need.

Tell us about your drilling campaigns and the challenges you are tackling.
In 2024, we carried out a drilling campaign at CPO-5 which entailed the spudding of six wells. Additionally, we planned to drill another three wells. In 2025, we are looking to drill another five or six wells. We are now dealing with the regulatory restrictions of ANLA [National Environmental Licensing Authority]. Currently, we have approval for 14 pads, and this constrains our potential. We would be drilling many more wells if we could. We are in the process of modifying our licence to increase the number of pads we can have.
Another crucial element for making these operations run smoothly is having a good relationship with the communities. One needs to make them feel they are a part of the project. For example, we carried out “Hydrocarbons ABC” sessions with the communities to make them understand what oil and gas exploration and production actually is.
It is all about removing barriers and coming together so we can all benefit. Acceptability has increased, but resistance still continues among some communities, which have their own personal demands.

What sustainability efforts is ONGC Videsh carrying out in Colombia?
In fields such as Mariposa, which is producing around 450 barrels per day, water rates are very high when we produce.
We are trying to work with ANLA to get permits to do water injections to dispose of the produced water in a water disposal well, which would help us in reducing our carbon footprint. This is principally because removing the water in trucks is not only costly but emits CO2, as one has to use trucks to transport the water 30-40 kilometres away to dispose of or treat it.
We are also installing micro gas turbines in order to reuse the gas that was traditionally flared. We capture the associated gas that is produced when extracting crude and use it to generate power for our operations. This has been a success in Mariposa, and our plan is to replicate it at our other assets.
In addition to this, we are making laudable efforts in reforestation via different programmes. In the areas where we work, we have planned to plant trees across an area covering approximately 100 acres [405,000 square metres]. This is not only a governmental requirement but an environmentally responsible action we ought to do.

What are the company’s goals for the coming years in Colombia?
In the coming two years, our efforts will be focused on seismic work on the CPO-5 block, which will allow us to fully understand the potential of this block. Then, we want to begin our development and production objectives.
As for next year, we aim to surpass the 30,000-bopd production benchmark from the CPO-5 block. We will do all this in compliance with the highest HSE standards; we have had no labour-related accidents in the last three years. We want to continue on this path.
Secondly, we are seeking strategic partners who can help us synergise our day-to-day operations and activities. We aim to be among the top-three oil producers in the country, which means that we need to step up our game in terms of efficiency. The ultimate goal is to be a key actor contributing to Colombia’s energy security.
Moving forward, we are looking for more investment opportunities in Colombia. We are open to acquiring new development and production assets but not exploration assets. Our energy needs must be solved now, not tomorrow.

Read our latest insights on:

• Colombia
• India