Colombia Sign Contracts with Shell for Offshore Exploration

Colombia's government announced Monday that it has signed two exploration and production contracts with the energy and petrochemical company Shell. Contracts are aimed at enabling the group to explore offshore areas of the Caribbean Sea and will require the company to make initial investments of $100 million.

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The government of Colombia recently modified contractual terms for offshore exploration and launched a Permanent Area Allocation Process, a legal procurement process within the National Hydrocarbon Agency (ANH), in order to allow companies to explore in areas of interest, offering 20 blocks as part of a strategy to boost the oil sector.

“The signing of these contracts revalidates the confidence of oil investors in exploration of our offshore resources in the Caribbean,” ANH President Luis Miguel Morelli said in a statement. The investment could surpass $650 million if exploration continues, he added.

Its investment adds to almost $400 million recently announced by Brazil’s Petrobras in Colombia’s Tayrona block and state oil company Ecopetrol in block COL-5.

Colombia has proven reserves of 1.78 billion barrels of oil, equivalent to 5.7 years of consumption, according to the Ministry of Mines and Energy.

Colombia's government wants to boost its hydrocarbon reserves to guarantee its self-sufficiency.

Shell, one of the world’s largest energy companies, has often been accused of violating international human rights law. For many years, it has violated the human rights of its workers by practicing a policy of low or unpaid wages. In February 2019, Shell's systematic practice of violating human rights was denounced in a written statement from the United Nations Human Rights Council.