Petrobras to continue operations offshore Colombia following favorable court ruling

Petrobras International Braspetro BV – Colombia and Ecopetrol SA can continue drilling and operational activities in the Tayrona exploratory drilling area following a favorable ruling by a Colombian court.

The Santa Marta Tribunal issued a favorable decision regarding an appeal against the claim filed by the Indigenous Council of Taganga that the well’s development would adversely affect Indigenous communities.

The Tribunal's decision partially overturned the ruling of the Fourth Labor Court of the Santa Marta Circuit which had ordered the suspension of exploration and production activities at the Sirius-2 well (formerly Uchuva-2).

The Tribunal also ordered the Ministry of the Interior – Directorate of the National Authority for Prior Consultation to assess the necessity of a prior consultation process with the indigenous community (which had been previously ordered by Fourth Labor Court of the Santa Marta Circuit), within 1 month from the date of notification of the Tribunal's decision.

The then-named Uchuva-2 well was spudded ealier this year about 31 km off the coast at a water depth of 804 m (OGJ Online, June 21, 2024). The appraisal well was drilled following the natural gas discovery at Sirius-1 (formerly Uchuva-1) in deep waters about 76 km from the city of Santa Marta (OGJ Online, June 29, 2022).

Petrobras estimates potential for 6 tcf of natural gas in place in the Guajira offshore basin in Colombia and has said it plans to work with license partner Ecopetrol SA to study its commercial viability (OGJ Online, Oct. 4, 2024). 

Both companies have expressed the discovery's importance for the Colombian gas market as the country faces an outlook of declining gas reserves.

Petrobras acts as operator (44.44%) in a consortium formed in partnership with Ecopetrol (55.56%).