Frontera Energy, in an exploration joint venture with Parex Resources, has made oil and gas discovery in Colombia.
The discovery was made in the VIM-1 block, in which Frontera and Parex own 50% stake each, in the Lower Magdalena Valley, Colombia.
Drilled to a depth of 11,680 feet, the La Belleza-1 exploration well on the VIM-1 block encountered a total of 179 feet of potential hydrocarbon bearing reservoir in the Cienaga De Oro formation.
Frontera chief executive officer Richard Herbert said: “We are excited that the first well with our partner Parex in the Lower Magdalena Valley has been a success. Testing results from the La Belleza-1 well on the VIM-1 block are very encouraging, especially given the limited capacity of the testing equipment on site.
“The well’s combination of light oil and natural gas complements our overall portfolio mix of light and heavy crudes and our strategic goal to increase the portion of natural gas in our production profile. We recently started the drilling of the Asai-1 exploration well on the Guama block, also in the Lower Magdalena Valley where we are targeting liquids and natural gas.”
Frontera, Parex assessing options to drill one or two additional delineation wells
The companies has halted the drilling operations to facilitate testing of the open-hole section. Following the testing under natural flowing conditions and over a 328-hour period, the well produced 32,728bbls of API oil, 147mmcf of natural gas and 3,996 barrels of water.
The company intends to conduct flow testing at the well for one more week, followed by an extended 30 day pressure buildup period to obtain additional information on the final reservoir pressure.
The joint venture partners are assessing options to drill one or two additional delineation wells in the second half of 2020 from the existing La Belleza well pad.
In addition, Frontera has also recently spud the Asai-1 exploration well on the Guama block in the Lower Magdalena Valley.
Herbert added: “Over the course of 2020 and beyond, Frontera will look to increase its natural gas production in the Lower Magdalena Valley where we have excess gas processing capacity at the La Creciente field.
“It is encouraging to start 2020 with exploration success, as we are targeting significant high impact exploration activities in Colombia, Ecuador and Guyana this year.”
In July last year, Frontera bagged the onshore VIM-22 block in the Lower Magdalena Valley region during the Agencia Nacional de Hidrocarburos (ANH) bid round.
