The Australian oil company Range Resources has announced that it will participate in the drilling of an oil well in Guatemala with potential reserves of 2.3 million barrels of crude oil.
The company said it intends to sink a measuring pump in order to establish the commercial potential of two zones that have already been drilled, Atzam-4, where they expect a flow between 300 and 400 barrels per day.
The "La Libertad" area will be tendered again in June, as it was the only of seven proposed areas for exploration that did not receive any bids in the last tender.
From a total of seven oil fields, La Libertad was the only area that did not receive any offers, therefore the Guatemalan authorities have created a new tender to be launched in June of this year.
Nine companies have submitted 15 bids to the Ministry of Energy and Mines, in the tender for exploration and exploitation of seven oil fields.
Prensalibre.com reports that "The Cotzal area (Petén) received five applications; Laguna Blanca (Petén) and El Cedro (Alta Verapaz), three; San Francisco, two, and Cancuén (Petén) and Xalbal (Quiché) one, respectively. The area of La Libertad (Petén) did not receive any bids".
The fall in European’s consumption capacities and the increase in those of the Centrals Americans has created expectations by businesses which fall outside of the traditional areas in both regions.
An article in Prensalibre.com highlights the change in the sectoral composition of Spanish trade missions in Central American territories.
Before those that came were mostly utility businesses, whereas now companies interested in these markets are producers of goods.
Of the seven areas which are being tendered for exploration in Guatemala, the most interesting are those near the oil areas of Belize, which are already in production.
Against the background of the opening of bids for exploration and extraction of 7 areas defined by the government of Guatemala, an article in Elperiodico.com.gt reports that "Laguna Blanca, Cancuén and El Cedro are the oil areas that have attracted the most interest among investors who will submit their bids tomorrow for the seven places that the Ministry of Energy and Mines (MEM) is tendering. Industry sources confirm that interest in Laguna Blanca comes from the fact that its location is close to the oil fields that are in production in Belize. Whereas El Cedro is attractive because it is close to the fields of Rubelsanto, one of the most productive areas in the country. "
Pacific Rubiales has announced a $1.7 billion investment in exploration and developments in Guatemala, Colombia, Peru, Brazil and Papua New Guinea.
A spokesperson for the company noted that "While Colombia remains the main area for the production company and the focus of most of its activities and expenditures in 2013, we are taking our first important steps beyond its borders, with a major program that will have a high impact in Peru, Guatemala, Brazil and Papua New Guinea. "
The Ministry of Energy and Mines in Guatemala is receiving the fee of $25,000 which enables bidders to take part in the tender for the concession of oil operations in 7 different areas.
According to an article Elperiodico.com.gt, the Ministry of Energy and Mines (MEM) this week opened the tender for the award of contracts for oil operations in seven areas under direct and indirect exploration formats.
Guatemala's government has set a date for receiving bids in the tender for the exploration and exploitation of hydrocarbons in seven areas in the country's north.
The date for submission of bids is February 13, 2013 at the offices of the MEM. Applicants must comply with minimum tasks, definitions and parameters, among which are producing gravimetric, aeromagnetic, geological, geochemical and aseismic 3D surveys.
Among the 40 companies that attended an information workshop on the topic were Perenco Guatemala Limited, Trayectoria Oil & Gas, Empresa Petrolera del Istmo, Rubiales Energy and Hupecol Operating Co.
No date has been set for the submission of bids in the tender for the award of a concession for exploration and exploitation of hydrocarbons in the seven areas identified by the Ministry of Energy and Mines (MEM), and the publication of a Government Agreement about the tender is still pending, believed to be happening at the end of November.
The Government of Guatemala has approved the basis of a call for tenders for the exploration and exploitation of hydrocarbons in the seven listed areas.
An excerpt from Government Agreement No. 172-2012:
MINISTRY OF ENERGY AND MINES
Approves the selection of seven areas for exploitation and exploration of oil, applying the Model Contract for Exploration and Exploitation of Hydrocarbons, with five areas in the form of ‘indirect exploration phase’, two areas of ‘Indirect and Direct Exploration Phase’ both to be described.
The government is negotiating negotiate contractual issues with City Petén, concessionaire of the exploration and exploitation contract for oil area Petén 1-2008.
In order to complete the award process seven legal aspects that have been identified by the Ministry of Energy and Mines (MEM) must be corrected, said the head of the ministry, Erick Archila.
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
The Ministry of Energy and Mines is continuing its search for companies interested in participating in a tender for the seven oil fields located in Petén.
Investors from Canada, the USA and Uruguay have participated in briefings and for in the next few weeks so will businessmen from Colombia and Brazil.
Minister Erick Archila described the briefings as very successful and expects that all the areas can be awarded in the next tender.
Based on the country's prospected oil potential, Ivanhoe Energy and Cobán Oil & Gas are proposing to invest $250 million.
Both companies signed a letter of intent for joint investments of $250 million and reported that they expect to finish the process in 30 months, sign an investment agreement, and then start building the plant.
"Petén north and Petén south have great potential, where we recorded 120 million proven barrels" of oil, said Evanan Romero, representative of Coban Oil. He also suggested creating a national company to avoid the "ordeal" involving the procurement and legal processes, reported Prensalibre.com.