Old town Cartagena, Colombia. Where Colombian businessmen and politicians play. Photo: Proexport Colombia

Old town Cartagena, Colombia. Photo: Proexport Colombia

The following is an excerpt from Stockwatch.com's Energy Summary - December 20, 2013 (Source):

Parex Resources Ltd. (PXT), a former joint venturer of Niko's in Trinidad until it relinquished those blocks to focus on Colombia, added 22 cents to $6.67, thanks to news from a different joint venture. GeoPark Ltd., the operator of Parex's 45-per-cent-held LLA 34 block in Colombia's Llanos basin, has tested the Tigana Sur-1 well at 1,597 barrels of oil a day. This well is about 1,200 metres from the Tigana-1 well, where GeoPark tested 1,469 barrels a day last week. Parex did not mention either of the flow rates in a press release.

Parex may be feeling reticent but Canacol Energy Ltd. (CNE), up 28 cents to $6.84, is happy to tout its good fortune in Colombia. The company hit a 19-month high on Monday after testing its Leono 1 well, also in the Llanos basin, at 1,863 barrels of oil a day. Chief executive officer Charle Gamba told Bloomberg yesterday that the Leono discovery could add as much as 10,000 barrels a day of production next year. Canacol's current production is about 12,000 barrels a day, and its official target for 2014 is 15,000 barrels a day, but Mr. Gamba said Leono has made this "a low-side type of guidance." Shareholders will learn more about the discovery when Canacol publishes its next set of Leono 1 test results next week. The company will also drill four more Leono wells in the first quarter. Mr. Gamba addressed rumours that larger Colombian companies, in particular Pacific Rubiales Energy Corp. (PRE: $18.74), are considering a takeover. He said none of his discussions so far has led to a formal offer, but if the near-term results from light and shale oil wells are good, he expects to "very quickly go to the top of several radar screens in terms of an acquirer." If that does not happen, Canacol will be the buyer in 2014, bidding on blocks in the next auction round. The process starts on Feb. 20 and the government will award contracts in July.

Related:

Canacol Oil Output May Surpass Forecast on Leono Find | Bloomberg

Colombia aims to raise $2.6 billion in 2014 oil auctions -gov't | Reuters

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