Repsol has signed an agreement with Colombian company Ecopetrol and Brazil’s Petrobras to buy a stake in the offshore Tayrona exploration block in the Colombian Caribbean Sea.
Following the agreement, Repsol owns a 30% stake in the block, while Ecopetrol owns 30%. Petrobras, with a 40% stake, will continue to be the operator. The deal is subject to the approval of Columbia’s National Hydrocarbons Agency (Agencia Nacional de Hidrocarburos.)
The Tayrona block is part of an exploration and development contract signed in 2004 with ANH and covers and area of 16,000 km2.
The agreement is part of Repsol’s 2014 Horizon strategic planning, in which the upstream business is the growth-driver for the company. Repsol already has a number of successful operations in the Caribbean Sea, including the Cardon IV block in Venezuela.
Repsol has rights in nine blocks in Colombia, five of which are exploration blocks while four are in production. The company is present in the Caño Limon block and the surrounding area, the largest discovery made to date in the country. Repsol’s net production in the country in 2009 was 2.4 million barrels (6,578 barrels a day.)
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Source:Repsol, January 12, 2011;