The decline in global prices is the main reason behind the abandonment of several areas on the part of concessionaires, added to which is confusion around the mining moratorium.
Guatemala went from extracting 9 million barrels of oil in 2003 (a daily average of 24 thousand barrels) to just 3 million in 2015 (10 thousand barrels per day), recording a drop in production of 59.4% in twelve years.
Petro Energy Company has the right to carry out oil exploration activities for 15 years.
"The term of the initial contract was for 25 years, and the company requested an extension, and the new expiration date is in December 2028 ... ", reported Prensalibre.com. The measure passed by the Guatemalan government was based on the Hydrocarbons Law and the Law of Fonpetrol which states that the term for oil contracts may be extended once by up to 15 years..
The possibility that Guatemala has the necessary amount of natural gas for power generation attracts interest from various sectors.
A few weeks ago City Petén discovered a gas condensate reservoir from which, once refined, superior and regular gasoline and diesel and gas could be obtained. At the moment 250 barrels per day of natural gas are extracted and although this is not enough for industrialization, it could be a sign that there is more in the areas that are to be explored, explained Jose Paez company representative.
The company City Petén has discovered a reservoir of high quality condensate, rich in butane and propane, in an oil well in Ocultún, Petén.
"Everything indicated that Guatemala only had heavy oil with high sulfur content. However, this discovery of natural gas is changing the energy mix in the medium term, " said Luis Ayala, director of Hydrocarbons of the Ministry of Energy and Mines.
The government has awarded the company City Petén a contract for exploration and exploitation of oil in the Yalcanix area in the department of Petén.
Jose Paez, legal representative of City Peten, said they plan to start environmental impact studies and in the next three years will be investing $30 million during the exploration stage.
The approval came after a long period of legal analysis.
Representatives from 45 companies attended a presentation about the oil areas that Guatemala will put out to tender.
Representatives from the companies Hupecol, Superior Energy Services, E & P Sucursal Colombia, Trayectoria del Gas, Petro Dorado, Ecopetrol, Pacific Rubiales, Geopetrocol and delegates from Perenco Guatemala and Perenco Colombia, participated in the presentation made by the Ministry of Energy and mines (MEM) held in the Colombian capital.
The Ministry of Energy and Mines (MEM) has announced a tender for seven oil fields located in the north.
The contracts for the seven areas will be awarded for a period of 25 years, renewable for 15 more, under two different modalities.
"Luis Ayala, director of Hydrocarbons at the MEM, explained that 5 areas in the indirect exploration phase will be awarded under the first mode, where investors will be required to perform 2D and 3D seismic studies , and from the third year they will have the option to drill a well", reported