Oil discovered in central Colombia

BOGOTA - Canadian oil company Canacol Energy confirmed Thursday that it has found oil at a well in Central Colombia.

Canacol President and CEO Charle Gamba said in a statement that he was "very pleased" with the initial results of the exploration well, "which confirms the existence of petroleum" in the upper layers.

"The result is very positive for our contract... We have located four similar prospects," based on recent 3D seismic surveys, he said.

During the first quarter of 2013, the company expects to begin drilling at the most promising well at Santa Isabel, known as Oso Pardo, in central Colombia's Valle Medio del Magdalena region, Gamba added.

Gamba noted that they were also awaiting the results of soil composition studies from exploration work done at the deepest part of the well.

Canacol Energy is a global Colombian-Canadian oil exploration and exploitation company with affiliates in Colombia and Ecuador.

Currently, the company explores 18 blocks, including seven in production and 11 in the exploration phase.

In 2008, the Colombian government opened up the country for foreign investment by offering 150 exploration contracts to oil companies in a bid to revive its oil industry.

Colombia's oil production has increased steadily over the past few years, and reached around 930,500 barrels per day in June 2011, making it one of the major oil producers in South America, after Venezuela and Brazil.

The country is set to increase reserves and daily oil output to 1 million barrels of clean oil by 2015.