Ecopetrol announces hydrocarbon discovery at Kronos-1

Ecopetrol announced Tuesday that a significant discovery of hydrocarbon has been made at the Colombian Caribbean ultra-deepwater exploration project.

According to the company, operators at the Kronos-1 well discovered a hydrocarbon presence of natural gas containing sandstone estimated to be between 130 and 230 feet in size. The well has a total depth of approximately 12,200 feet, and the project is 33 miles out in the Columbian South Caribbean Sea's Fuerte Sur block.

"We are pleased to announce this discovery in Colombian Caribbean deepwater, this time accompanied by Anadarko," Ecopetrol President Juan Carlos Echeverry said. "This discovery adds to the one accomplished in December at the Orca-1 well, located in the deep water of Tayrona block offshore Guajira, where we are partners with Petrobras, Repsol and Statoil. These results are very important and confirm the potential of the Colombian Caribbean petroleum system in a vast area and are aligned with Ecopetrol´s new strategy, in which one of the key areas is the exploration on high potential marine basins."

The project's operator, Anadarko, holds 50 percent interest of the project with Ecopetrol holding the remaining interest. Technical teams from both companies will continue to evaluate the results of this well and will continue drilling operations.