Falling oil production threatens Colombia’s output target

Colombia produced 950,000 barrels per day in May, continuing the country’s trend of lower production in 2014.

Although output was 1.6 percent higher than in April, the figure represented a 6.7 percent year-on-year decrease for the month May. In 2013, Colombia surpassed the 1-million-barrels-of-oil-per-day (bopd) production mark, putting it on course to reach its 1.5-million-bopd production target by 2020. But so far in 2014, production has hovered just below 1 million bopd.

With proven oil reserves of about 2.45 billion barrels, Colombia’s reserves-to-production ratio is very low, with less than seven years in reserves left at the current rate of production.

“Before my arrival, the goal was to produce more than 1 million bopd. But it is equally or more important to continue increasing our reserves, which remain modest,”Amylkar Acosta, minister of energy and mines, told TOGY during an interview.