<article><p class="lead">China's state-owned CNOOC is among at least four additional foreign oil companies that are newly pre-qualified to participate in Colombia's latest upstream licensing round that kicks off this month.</p><p>China is already a significant buyer of Colombian crude, with Asia-bound volumes swelling in recent years, partly in response to a <a href="https://www2.argusmedia.com/en/news/1987478-venezuelas-crude-output-sinks-to-650000-bd-in-sept?backToResults=true">decline in supply from neighboring Venezuela</a>.</p><p>The newest authorized bidders for the second stage of Colombia's permanent round also include Norway's Interoil, Argentina's PetroSud and US independent Vetra, bringing the total list to 26. A European firm and another South American company are interested in pre-qualifying as well, a senior official with Colombia's hydrocarbons regulator ANH said today on the sidelines of the Colombian oil chamber's annual summit.</p><p>The bidding roster already features US independents Occidental, Hunt and Noble Energy; India's ONGC; Spain's Cepsa; Canadian independents Gran Tierra Energy, Parex and Frontera; and Colombia's state-controlled Ecopetrol, among others.</p><p>Offers are due on 26 November, followed by potential counter-offers on 5 December and final bids on 12 December.</p><p>Up for grabs are 59 blocks, including five in the frontier deepwater Caribbean where Noble Energy and partner Shell plan to drill the ultra-deepwater Cumbia well on the COL-3 block around mid-2020, pending a regulatory permit, according to ANH officials. The well is expected to cost more than $100mn.</p><p>Colombia is counting on offshore Caribbean acreage and future unconventional projects to boost crude and natural gas reserves.</p><p>The non-Opec country produced 879,497 b/d of crude in September, up by a meager 1.2pc year on year, while gas production jumped by 18.6pc to a year-to-date high of 1.141 Bcf/d (32mn m³/d), reflecting higher demand.</p><p>Nationwide, proven crude reserves increased by 9.9pc to 1.96bn bl in 2018 from 1.78bn bl at the end of 2017, extending the life of the reserves to 6.2 years from a previous 5.7.</p><p>In contrast, proven gas reserves slid by 2.9pc to 3.78 Tcf, equivalent to 9.8 years. At the end of 2017, gas reserves totaled 3.89 Tcf, or 11.7 years of supply.</p><p>ANH president Luis Morelli told reporters today that Colombia has the potential to boost reserves by 9bn bl of oil equivalent from future unconventional drilling. </p><p>Colombia has seen a rise in upstream interest by companies that are looking away from Mexico and Argentina because of changing investment conditions there, Morelli said.</p><p class="lead"><i>By Patricia Garip</i></p></article>
