Paris-based Maurel & Prom (M&P) has encountered hydrocarbons at its Sabanero-1 well on the Sabanero license in Colombia's Llanos basin.
Around 40f (12m) of net pay has been identified with potential flow rates yet to be confirmed, the firm said in a statement.
M&P will now drill the Sabanero-SE1 well in order to judge potential reserves and commerciality levels on the block.
The firm also plans to announce drilling results for its Cascabel-1 and Bachue-1 wells next month.
M&P holds four licenses across Colombia and was awarded the COR 15 concession by the country's national hydrocarbons agency (ANH) in last month's open round 2010 tender.
Norwegian oil services company Subsea 7 has picked up a contract with Brazilian state-run energy group Petrobras (NYSE: PBR) to provide remotely operated underwater vehicles (ROVs) for operations offshore Brazil.
Subsea 7 will also provide underwater positioning survey services onboard a ROV support vessel, the company said in a statement.
The contract has an estimated value of US$50mn. The contracted services will start in the third quarter this year, the company said.
"The award allows us to provide additional services encompassing the provision of a number of high precision ROV mounted sensors, including inertial navigation and sound velocity equipment, all of which are linked to a navigation software program to allow the integration of all positioning sensors onboard the vessel," Subsea 7 executive Bruce Masson said in the statement.
The head of Argentina's natural gas regulator Enargas, Antonio Pronsato, denied that there is a shortage of LPG in the country and insisted that production levels are sufficient to satisfy national demand, state news agency Telam reported.
Pronsato blamed any supply shortfalls on local distributers. He also rejected recent reports in the Argentine press that the country is planning to import LPG.
"Our country is a net exporter of LPG and does not import one ton at any time of the year," Telam quoted Pronsato as saying.
Record low temperatures across the Southern Cone have caused stress on regional gas supplies.
As well as reports of LPG shortages, industrial and residential customers across Argentina have complained of service disruptions on the national gas distribution network.
Press in neighboring Uruguay, meanwhile, reported that LPG supplies have returned to normal in Montevideo. The resumption of service followed strikes at a plant that caused supply problems.
Bolivia's state hydrocarbons company YPFB is dispatching record levels of up to 123,000 canisters a day of LPG in response to the current spell of lower than average temperatures affecting the country.
Around 77% of the deliveries are going to the urban centers of La Paz, Cochabamba and Santa Cruz, YPFB said in a statement.
On average 38,000-40,000 canisters a day are being dispatched to Santa Cruz alone, according to the firm, with demand up 16% on the same period last year. Demand is also up in the western mountainous regions of Potosi and Oruro.
The firm guaranteed that LPG supplies are sufficient across the country to cope with recent demand increases. Diesel and gasoline supplies will also not be affected, YPFB's commercial director Guillermo Acha said in the statement.
Reforms to Ecuador's hydrocarbons fiscal regime will bring the government extra revenues of around US$550mn a year, the country's non-renewable natural resources minister, Wilson Pastor, announced.
The reforms came into force after the country's President Rafael Correa approved the legislation late last week, state news agency El Ciudadano reported.
The approved legislation has three chapters that cover service payment rates, institutional environment and taxes, BNamericas previously reported.
For investment in fields in production, 15% of profit would be recognized for operational costs and up to 25% for new investment in exploration, depending on the estimated geological risk.
On the institutional front, the initiative aims to create a hydrocarbons department and a national hydrocarbons agency. The first would manage oil assets, evaluate reserves, identify production areas and carry out bidding; the latter would act as regulator.
The second chapter also envisions the restructuring of state oil company Petroecuador into two companies, one for E&P and the other for refining and commercialization.
The reform package includes a transitory clause that establishes a timetable for replacing current production sharing contracts with service payment contracts.
A period of 120 days would be given for large contract holders to reach an agreement with the ministry, and 180 days for smaller contracts. A total of 22 contracts would be modified.
The government is expected to set a contract liquidation price for companies that do not accept modifications.
There are multiple upstream and downstream opportunities in Latin America, according to French oil and gas services company Technip's CEO Thierry Pilenko.
"There are quite a number of opportunities both upstream and downstream but the timing of the final investment decision is much more difficult to forecast in countries like Venezuela, Chile or Colombia," Pilenko said in a presentation.
The executive highlighted Technip's push to increase its footprint in Brazil for work from non pre-salt and pre-salt areas. "We see Brazil on a strong path."
Technip reported that its Americas backlog at end-June represented 18% of the group's 8.26bn-euro (US$10.7bn) backlog. The bulk of the backlog is from the Middle East (37%), followed by Europe, Russia and Central Asia (21%), the Americas, Africa (16%) and Asia Pacific (8%).
This geographic balance will be maintained through year-end, added company CFO Julian Waldron.
At end-March, Technip's Americas backlog accounted for 18.1% of the company's 8.02bn-euro backlog.
The firm's Americas revenue in the second quarter fell 20.4% to 347mn euros compared with 2Q09. Companywide revenue reached 1.49bn euros.
By David Casallas
Latin America's significant 3P reserves of up to 430Bboe might not be unearthed if national oil companies (NOCs) do not act within the next five years, according to Arnold Volkenborn, VP for Schlumberger Business Consulting.
"Latin American reserves can take decades to develop," Volkenborn said in a presentation. "The reserves in Latin America are often heavy crude, capital intensive and have longer development cycles."
Moreover, access to reserves is restricted in the Americas by NOCs that control the rights to the resource, according to Volkenborn.
"The net effect of restricting access to reserves by NOCs is the deferral of development over many decades," he said.
"The underlying assumption is oil will be more valuable in 50-100 years," he continued. "If this is not the case, the vast majority of Latin American reserves will never be developed."
By Christopher Lenton
Paris-based Maurel & Prom (M&P) has encountered hydrocarbons at its Sabanero-1 well on the Sabanero license in Colombia's Llanos basin.
