The term  Offshore  can be attributed to companies or companies incorporated outside the country of residence, from where the operation is carried out. However, when we talk about  offshore facilities in the hydrocarbon field in Colombia, we are referring to oil or gas  exploration, extraction and transportation projects  that are submerged in the sea or on its surface at a certain distance from the coast. 

To make the discovery and location of an offshore hydrocarbon deposit (reservoir)  , geophysicists and geologists examine the images of the sea subsurface from studies, which establish whether it is possible to intervene in a certain site for the extraction of oil or gas.

In recent years, new areas have been awarded for the exploitation of hydrocarbons and gas on the Caribbean coast. The Colombian Caribbean has great wealth in the production of gas and liquid hydrocarbons, which is why efforts have been made to encourage and strengthen the extraction of offshore hydrocarbons in this region. The Government, through the National Hydrocarbons Agency (ANH), has been in charge of promoting the precise strategies to locate new deposits in the country and manage to promote the perfect and sustainable use of resources in the country. 

The award of exploitation blocks occurs after carrying out previous studies, which show that there is an interesting potential to obtain oil or gas reserves. Today there are different national and foreign companies that carry out analysis and subsequent exploitation work.

The data in the Caribbean 

Our days have twenty blocks for oil and gas exploration, one of them is continental, that is, they are in the national territory and the remaining 2 are in the Caribbean Sea. 

The offshore oil and gas blocks   that are in operation in the Colombian Caribbean are Orca and Purple Angel, as described below:

• Orca: its operation today depends on Petrobras and Ecopetrol, which could start production in 2024, thereby guaranteeing the country the delivery of at least one hundred million cubic feet per day (mcfd) of gas.

• Purple Angel: its operation depends entirely on Ecopetrol, after Anadarko returned the management of the wells to the Colombian company. This block is made up of 3 discoveries of a new gas province with the Kronos, Purple Angel-1 and Gorgon wells.

In addition to the foregoing, the multinational Shell signed two contracts with the ANH for the exploration and production of two new blocks, with an estimated investment of US$100 million, a quite significant figure, which could be increased significantly if the multinational decides to continue. with the next phases, which would result in an investment of US$650 million. In relation to the exploration area of ​​the 2 new blocks assigned, they add up to a total of eight hundred and eighty hectares in which seismic tests, drilling of exploratory wells and samples will be carried out.

The offshore advisory route

With all of the above, it is therefore important that gas and oil exploration and exploitation projects   have the support required to properly carry out their activities and for this,  offshore  advice becomes the main protagonist.

The challenges for the country

The outlook for the country in relation to the exploration and production of hydrocarbons and  offshore gas  is positive, since in the waters of the Caribbean Sea it is estimated that there are large volumes of hydrocarbon reserves. With the offer made by the Ministry of Mines and Energy and with the support of the ANH, foreign investment has not been long in coming, which will bring important benefits in labor and economic issues for the Colombian Caribbean zone.

In accordance with the foregoing, the country must prepare itself so that the administration of the entire exploration and production process is carried out in the best way. For this reason, national and foreign companies must have suitable offshore advice, which actively cooperates in the planning, coordination, insurance and control of activities, contributing in an essential way to the achievement of objectives.

For the execution of offshore advisory services, VQ INGENIERIA (VQ) has established an important strategic alliance with the Canadian company Waterford Energy Services (WESI) who has extensive experience throughout the world in the development of this kind of services. 

This alliance will create essential synergies for the benefit of our clients, combining VQ’s experience in the development of engineering advisory services for different oil companies present in Colombia with WESI’s specific experience in  offshore projects  .