IS - Market disruptions force recalibration of 2020 plans - March 2020With the coronavirus pandemic engulfing the globe, we wish our readers safety and health during this difficult time. Falling demand because of the outbreak and rising supply because of a price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia have thrown the oil market into disarray (PG.16). Companies have started slashing capex and revising plans for 2020 to prepare for a likely even-lower-for-evenlonger oil price scenario. Total and Shell (PG.1) became the first supermajors to cut their 2020 capex...
Mar 24, 2020
IS - Ecopetrol cuts capex by 25%, enacts austerity measures - March 2020Colombian NOC Ecopetrol announced a $1.2 billion reduction to capital expenditures to bring 2020 spending to $3.3-4.3 billion from its initial $5-5.5 billion range. Though the cut to spending is substantial, the company said its 2020 production target of 745,000-760,000 boe/d will not change. In 2019, Ecopetrol spent $4.4 billion and produced 725,000 boe/d, a level flat with the prior year’s output. In addition to capex reductions, Ecopetrol said it will immediately find ways to cut its...
Mar 24, 2020
IS - Shell teams up with Ecopetrol in Caribbean deepwater blocks - March 2020Shell struck a deal with Ecopetrol to acquire an operated 50% WI in the Fuerte Sur, Purple Angel and COL-5 blocks in the deepwater Caribbean Sea off Colombia. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The Colombian NOC recently completed its first deepwater seismic survey on COL-5, adjacent to Fuerte Sur and Purple Angel, which include the 2015 Kronos find and the Purple Angel and Gorgon discoveries of 2017. All of those finds were made by Anadarko Petroleum, which was...
Mar 03, 2020
A&D - Chevron exits Colombia via sale of gas assets to Ecopetrol - January 2020In Colombia, Chevron is divesting its operated 43% WI in the offshore Chuchupa field in the Caribbean Sea and onshore Ballena field and gas processing plant in La Guajira province to state-controlled Ecopetrol, which will consolidate its ownership in the assets. The supermajor exits Colombia’s upstream sector through the deal, ending a long run as operator of both assets. Chevron commenced production at Ballena in 1977 and Chuchupa in 1979. Chevron reported total net production from the...
Jan 16, 2020
CS - People & Companies - January 8, 2020Calgary-based and Colombiafocused Arrow Exploration appointed Felix Betancourt interim CEO. He is a former senior executive of both Canacol Energy Ltd. and Ecopetrol. Alex Pourbaix retired from his membership on Trican Well Service Ltd.’s board on Dec. 31 to focus on his role as president and CEO of Cenovus Energy, as well as other commitments as board chair at Mount Royal University and incoming chair of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers. Edmonton, Alberta-based...
Jan 08, 2020
IS- Chevron exits Colombia via sale of mature gas assets to Ecopetrol
- December 2019In Colombia, EcoPetrol is consolidating ownership of the offshore Chuchupa field in the Caribbean Sea and onshore Ballena field and gas processing plant in La Guajira province, acquiring Chevron’s operated 43% WI in both assets. The supermajor exits Colombia’s upstream sector through the deal, ending a long run as operator of both assets. The company commenced production at Ballena in 1977 and Chuchupa in 1979. Chevron reported total net production from the two fields of 82 MMcf/d last year....
Dec 31, 2019
IS - Colombia awards 15 blocks at second licensing round of 2019 - December 2019Colombia’s National Hydrocarbons Agency (ANH) awarded 14 blocks out of 59 on offer in its second licensing auction this year. The regulator received 17 bids from 10 companies for 15 blocks, which is expected to draw $500 million in investment. The country had hoped to generate around $800 million in investments from a targeted 20 bids. The LLA 124 block in the Llanos Basin was the subject of an ongoing bidding contest but was ultimately awarded to a consortium of GeoPark and Hocol on Dec. 17,...
Dec 31, 2019
A&D - Repsol closes $325MM buyout of Equinor’s Eagle Ford JV stake - December 2019Spanish energy company Repsol took full control of its Eagle Ford JV assets, completing the $325 million acquisition of Norwegian producer Equinor’s operated 63% WI in the nearly decade-old South Texas partnership on Dec. 6. The purchase amounted to 69,000 net acres and 34,000 boe/d (~60% liquids), boosting Repsol’s holdings to 110,000 net acres across Karnes, DeWitt, Live Oak, McMullen, and La Salle counties with output of 54,000 boe/d, which it now owns with 100% WI. It has an effective date...
Dec 19, 2019
SES - Equinor Highlights - December 19, 2019Equinor acquired 20% WI in the Mollerussa prospect in the Walker Ridge area of the GOM from operator Repsol, which retains 40% WI. Ecopetrol holds the other 40% WI in the prospect, which lies 10 miles east of the Equinor-operated Monument prospect. The transaction is part of an asset swap in which Repsol received 20% WI in Monument from...
Dec 19, 2019
PS - Oxy's scaled-back 2020 capex to drive 2% production growth - December 2019Occidental released a preliminary 2020 budget of $5.3-5.5 billion, down $3.6 billion from combined 2019 Anadarko and Oxy budgets. This will fuel 2% production growth, driven by its Permian resources division; output from other areas will be flat or grow at a reduced rate. Permian volumes are projected to grow 5% in 2020, and the company will run five rigs in New Mexico, six to seven on Anadarko’s legacy Texas Delaware Basin assets and three to four in its Midland Basin JV with EcoPetrol. Also...
Dec 06, 2019
PS - Occidental Petroleum Highlights - December 4, 2019Occidental Petroleum released a preliminary 2020 budget of $5.3- 5.5 billion. This is down by $3.6 billion from the combined Anadarko Petroleum and Oxy budgets for 2019. At that level, the company is targeting 2% production growth, driven by 5% higher volumes in its Permian resource play; output from other areas will be flat or grow at a reduced rate. Oxy will run five rigs in New Mexico, six to seven on Anadarko’s legacy Texas Delaware Basin acreage and three to four in its Midland Basin JV...
Dec 04, 2019
IS - Occidental and Ecopetrol complete $1.5B Permian Basin JV - November 2019Colombia’s EcoPetrol and Occidental Petroleum on Nov. 13 completed the formation of their $1.5 billion JV to develop 97,000 net acres of Oxy’s leasehold in the Midland subbasin of the Permian Basin in West Texas. Oxy, which will operate the partnership with 51% WI, received $876.5 million at closing: $750 million for the cash portion of the deal and a $126.5 million payment to cover the carry from the August effective date to the end of 2019. There are currently two rigs operating in the area,...
Nov 26, 2019
A&D - Ecopetrol acquires stake in GOM discovery from Chevron - November 2019EcoPetrol struck a deal with Chevron to acquire a stake in the recent Esox light oil discovery operated by Hess Corp. in the US Gulf of Mexico. The Colombian NOC participated in the drilling of the Esox-1 well under a farm-out agreement with the supermajor. The well was drilled in early November on the Mississippi Canyon 726 block in water depth of 1,405 meters. It encountered 191 ft of net pay in high-quality oil-bearing Miocene reservoirs. Production is expected to begin in 1Q20....
Nov 21, 2019
A&D - Upstream M&A gets a shot in the arm midway through Q4
- November 2019A lackluster upstream deal market received a boost in the last few weeks with several notable transactions making headlines. After heeding the concerns of some of its major shareholders, Callon Petroleum revised its offer to acquire Carrizo Oil & Gas (PG.1). The most vehement opponent of the original deal, Paulson & Co., decided to drop its opposition, noting that the revised offer provides “substantial benefits to shareholders.” In terms of asset-level transactions, Laredo...
Nov 21, 2019
IS - Latin America Briefs - May 8, 2020Apache Corp. spudded its third exploration well, Kwasikwasi, on Block 58 off Suriname in mid-April. The previous two wells, Maka Central and Sapakara West, both resulted in significant oil discoveries. Kwasikwasi is located 10 km northwest of Sapakara West. After Apache (50% WI) finishes the fourth exploration well, partner Total (50%) will take over operatorship of the license. The partners have identified seven play types and over 50 prospects on the block. \Colombia’s Ecopetrol...
May 08, 2020