Barranquilla: Latin America's new offshore oil and gas hub?

Colombia's burgeoning offshore oil and gas sector has turned the Caribbean port city of Barranquilla into a land of opportunity for investors, according to local maritime and logistics group Coremar.

The company says business is booming as the government seeks to kickstart offshore exploration in 2021 after years of inactivity.

"The offshore segment represents opportunities and challenges for Colombia in the areas of employment, skilled labor, industrialization, specialized services, investments in different areas of the economy and... competitiveness," Coremar general manager Marcela Pisciotti said in a report published by industry group Campetrol.

"It's necessary to consolidate a hub that accommodates and centralizes all activities related to operations. Atlántico department, and especially Barranquilla, has advantages."

Pisciotti said Coremar has been developing a logistics services cluster connecting the Caribbean coast with Colombia's interior via the Magdalena river, which flanks Barranquilla's eastern fringes.

Its business units include tugboats, offshore vessels, maritime transport, port terminals and fuel distribution infrastructure.

The company has provided logistical support to more than 90% of Colombia's offshore projects to date, according to Pisciotti, and has served operators such as Equión, Occidental, Repsol and Ecopetrol.

FIRST OFFSHORE OIL IN 2025

In September, energy minister Diego Mesa forecast that Colombia's first offshore production fields would come on stream within five years.

Officials have said that a slew of deepwater wells are scheduled to be drilled next year as operators meet early commitments for exploration and production contracts totaling US$1.9bn in expected investments.

The companies with exploration campaigns pending are Petrobras, Shell, Repsol, ExxonMobil, Chevron and state-run firm Ecopetrol.  

Besides attracting major international operators, Colombia has sought technical cooperation agreements with nations that have established offshore production – such as Norway and the US – in an effort to steepen the learning curve.  

Colombia's offshore focus forms part of a broader plan to widen and diversify the country's hydrocarbon production base, which remains entirely dependent on dwindling conventional onshore reserves.