Ecopetrol S.A., Petrobras and ExxonMobil have formalized the Tayrona contract with Colombia’s National Hydrocarbon Agency (Agencia Nacional de Hidrocarburos or ANH) to explore 4.4 million hectares in Colombian Caribbean waters.
The signing of the Tayrona contract is a landmark in Colombia’s history for both the ANH and Ecopetrol. It is the first such contract for the exploration of hydrocarbons under the ANH’s new contract model and it formalizes the alliance between Ecopetrol and two of the world’s leading deepwater exploration oil companies - Petrobras and ExxonMobil. The contract signing is as important in Colombian hydrocarbon history as the first concession executed in 1905 and the first association contract formalized in 1974.
The Tayrona Block, which covers an area from Cartagena to the northern sector of La Guajira, has seen little exploration activity and the last well was drilled in 1981.
During the initial 18-month exploratory phase on the Tayrona contract area, the participating companies will continue data acquisition and analysis, including 3-D seismic data from the 1,000-square kilometer Bahía portion of the Tayrona contract area and 5,000 kilometers of 2-D seismic data reprocessing.
To carry out such activities, the most advanced technology is available from the two world experts in exploration of deep waters, namely, Petrobras and ExxonMobil. ExxonMobil will utilize its industry-leading deepwater exploration technology - Remote Reservoir Resistivity Mapping or R3M. R3M is a proprietary electromagnetic survey technique that ExxonMobil has used in other offshore areas of the world.
Under the contract, Petrobras will be the operator during the exploration phase and during development phase in case of liquid hydrocarbons were discovered and ExxonMobil will be the operator during the development phase, if any gas is discovered. Both companies will each have a 40 percent share in the block, with Ecopetrol holding the remaining 20 percent.
The agreement was expressed through a memorandum of understanding subscribed between Ecopetrol and Petrobras on March 16, 2004 and later joined by ExxonMobil, through an amendment signed on Saturday May 1, 2004.
The Tayrona block was assigned by the National Hydrocarbon Agency to Ecopetrol on April 30, 2004.