The National Hydrocarbon Agency (ANH) of Colombia has awarded 14 of the 15 continental blocks offered in the second round of the 2019 PPAA oil auction and will decide on the 15th block (which received a counteroffer).
In the Valle del Magdalena area, Canacol Energy was awarded three blocks and Parex Resources (Canada) two blocks. In the Llanos area, the six blocks were awarded to Ecopetrol, a consortium of Parex and Ecopetrol, Hocol, Frontera Energy and a consortium of Geopark and Hocol; the last block (124) will be awarded to Parex Resources, which submitted a counteroffer against a Geopark - Hocol bid. Gran Tierra Energy won two of the three block of the Putumayo area (third one awarded to Amerisur Exploracion) and a consortium of La Luna and Captiva won the Sinu-San Jacinto block.
The ANH had offered 59 blocks and prequalified 27 companies in November 2019, expecting to sign 20 contracts and to raise US$800m in total investments. However, it only received 17 bids from 10 companies, reducing investment expectations to US$500m. In the previous round, the ANH signed 11 contracts with 6 companies, which should generate US$500m in investments.
Colombia, which is an oil-exporting country since 1986, expects to significantly increase its production and export capacity. In 2018, oil exports reached 34 Mt (90% of crude oil), a significant increase compared to the average of 18 Mt/year recorded over the 2000s. Most of the oil is exported to the USA. ANH expects reserves to rise to 4 Gbl by 2020.
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