Colombia's latest oil and gas reserves report shows the country must issue new exploration licenses to guarantee its long-term energy security, according to natural gas association Naturgas.
The report, published on Thursday by national hydrocarbons agency ANH, said proven oil reserves stood at 2.074Bb (billion barrels) on December 31, up 35Mb or 1% compared to end-2021. The figure for natural gas dipped slightly to 2.82Tf3 (trillion cubic feet).
The volumes reflect self-sufficiency of 7.5 years for oil and 7.2 years for gas, down from 7.6 and 8.0 years, respectively, a year earlier. The faster rate of decline is due to higher production rates reported in 2022.
"We currently have reserves that allow us to be self-sufficient for up to eight years, but the truth is that companies identify other types of reserves or reserve potential that, if developed only through the drilling of wells, can add self-sufficiency in the long term," Naturgas president Luz Stella Murgas (pictured) told newspaper La República.
Officials had previously said the reserves report would dictate whether Colombia needed to resume auctions for oil and gas drilling rights.
The government has yet to comment on whether it could reverse a decision to stop issuing new licenses.
"Independent of the reserves report, Colombia should maintain natural gas self-sufficiency and the only way is by drilling wells, accelerating exploration in contracts that are already signed with the ANH and also in areas that have not been offered, but that have been identified with reserve potential," Murgas said.
Murgas said the need for more home-grown gas is becoming more urgent amid forecasts of an imminent El Niño drought cycle.
