Ecopetrol makes oil discovery at Santander
Ecopetrol SA reports that the Boranda-1 well discovered the presence of crude in the Magdalena Middle Valley, municipality of Rionegro, department of Santander.
The Boranda-1 well was at a depth of 3,657 meters, where the discovery of medium crude (20º API) was confirmed in the Esmeraldas formation, in four intervals of oil sands with a total thickness of 40 meters.
Boranda-1 is operated by Parex, with a 50% interest. Ecopetrol holds the other 50%. Nearby are the Payoa and Provincia crude receiving stations and the Barrancabermeja refinery.
Boranda is in the production range of the Aullador and Cristalina fields and Pavas-Cachira.
Over the past four months company has participated in deepwater discoveries in the Gulf of Mexico, the United States (Warrior) and the Colombian Caribbean (Purple Angel). In addition, its Hocol subsidiary announced the finding of Bullerengue Sur-1.
For 2017, Ecopetrol has an exploration budget of US$652 million, with which it will drill 17 wells directly and with partners; six will be drilled offshore, one in the Gulf of Mexico (US) and the other five in Colombia; the remaining 11 will be in various regions of the country.
Texas Oil and gas economy expanding
Crude oil and natural gas drilling and development in Texas has embarked upon a new cycle of expansion, according to the latest Texas Petro Index (TPI), which improved to 160.4 in March to post its fourth straight monthly increase.
"Economically speaking, the TPI data indicate that when oil and gas industry gathers in Wichita Falls in late April for the annual meeting and exposition of the Texas Alliance of Energy Producers, they will be meeting during a time of industry expansion for the first time in three years," said Karr Ingham, the economist who created the TPI and updates it monthly.
Driving the TPI upward during 1Q17 were crude oil and natural gas prices, drilling activity, the number of drilling permits issued, and the value of statewide oil and gas production-all higher than year-ago levels. However, the TPI is only about half the value of the record TPI of 313.5 in November 2014, and it still has not caught up in some other economic arenas.
Employment is increasing, but it still lags behind last year after the loss of well over 100,000 upstream jobs, said Ingham. An estimated 9,000 jobs have been added back since reaching the low point in September 2016.
"We still have a long way to go," Ingham said, "but 2017 is going to be a year of recovery and expansion in the Texas statewide oil and gas exploration and production economy. "Activity levels will continue to expand, jobs will continue to be added, and the industry will support the broader state economy again, rather than acting as a drag on growth as it has for the prior two years."
A composite index based upon a comprehensive group of upstream economic indicators, the TPI in March was 160.4, about 5.6% less than in March 2016. Before the recent economic downturn, the TPI peaked at a record 313.5 in November 2014, which marked the zenith of an economic expansion that began in December 2009, when the TPI stood at 187.4.
TPI highlights in 1st quarter (1Q) 2017:
• Statewide working rig count averaged 368 ( 43.5% more than in 1Q16 when on-average 257 rigs were drilling).
• The Texas Railroad Commission issued 3,257 drilling permits (104.3% more than the 1,594 permits granted in 1Q16).
• Producers recovered an estimated 291.4 MMbbls of crude oil in TX, 3% less than 1Q16.
• Producers recovered about 1.93 bcf of natural gas in TX, 7.5% less than 1Q16.
• Crude oil wellhead prices averaged $48.47/bbl, 60.8% higher than 1Q16, boosting the estimated value of TX-produced crude oil by 55.5% to about $14.1 billion.
• Natural gas prices averaged $2.88/Mcf, 51.7% more than 1Q16, increasing the estimated value of TX-produced natural gas by 40.2% to nearly $5.55 billion.
• About 199,000 Texans on average were employed in oil and gas production, drilling, and service sectors, about 6.1% fewer than the average of 211,975 in 1Q16.
TPI highlights in March:
• Estimated crude oil production in Texas totaled more than 99.6 MMbbls, 2.5% less than in March 2016. With March oil prices averaging $46.15/bbl, the value of TX-produced crude oil amounted to nearly $4.6 billion, just over 30% more than in March 2016.
• Texas natural gas output reached nearly 666.4 bcf, a YoY decline of about 5.9%. With March natural gas prices averaging $2.74/Mcf, the value of TX-produced gas increased about 57.8% to more than $1.82 billion.
• The Baker Hughes count of active drilling rigs in TX averaged 399, 80.5% more units than March 2016 when an average of 221 rigs were working. Drilling activity in Texas peaked in September 2008 at a monthly average of 946 rigs before falling to a trough of 329 in June 2009. In the economic expansion that began in December 2009, the statewide average monthly rig count peaked at 932 in May 2012 and June 2012.
• The number of original drilling permits issued was 1,310, about 156.4% more than the 511 permits issued in March 2016.
• An estimated average of 201,300 Texans remained on upstream payrolls, based upon data from the Texas Workforce Commission, about 2.2% fewer than March 2016 and about 34.2% fewer than the estimated high of 306,020 in December 2014. According to TPI estimates, the trough of upstream oil and gas employment in Texas before the expansion ending December 2014 was 184,640 in October 2009. During the previous growth cycle, industry employment peaked at 225,965 in October 2008.
