Statoil acquires stakes in offshore Colombia

Statoil has signed farm-in agreements with Repsol, acquiring a 10% equity share in the Tayrona licence and a 20% equity share in the Guajira Offshore 1 licence.

“With the recent award of the COL4 licence in the 2014 Colombia licencing round and the farm-in agreements with Repsol, Statoil is well positioned in deepwater offshore Colombia. We are gaining access to a vast underexplored frontier area through early access at scale, which is in line with Statoil’s exploration strategy,” says Nick Maden, Senior Vice President for Statoil's exploration activities in the Western Hemisphere.

Tayrona licence, deepwater offshore Colombia

Petrobras operates the Tayrona licence (40%), which includes the on-going Orca-1 exploration well. Repsol retains a 20% of the licence after farming down 10% to Statoil.

The remaining 30% is held by Ecopetrol. The licence covers an area of 16 500 km² and is located in water depths of 50 - 1500 m.

Guajira Offshore licence

Repsol operates the Guajira Offshore 1 (GUA OFF-1) licence and retains a 30% after farming down 20% to Statoil. The remaining 50% is held by Ecopetrol. The licence covers an area of 12 200 km² and is located in water depths of 1500 - 3500 m.

Map showing offshore Tayrona and Guajira.

Exploration seismic

Repsol has completed a 2D seismic survey in the licence area. The next step includes a 3D seismic survey, which is expected to start later this year.

The deals are subject to the approval of the National Hydrocarbons Agency of Colombia (ANH).

In July 2014 Statoil announced that it had been awarded interest in the COL4 licence. Repsol is the operator of the licence with a 33.34% equity interest. Statoil and Exxon Mobil Exploration Colombia each hold 33.33% interests in the licence.  

Adapted from press release by Cecilia Rehn

Read the article online at: https://www.oilfieldtechnology.com/exploration/05092014/statoil-has-signed-farm-in-agreements-with-repsol-acquiring-stakes-in-licences-offshore-colombia/