Chevron, Repsol, 30 Others May Bid to Drill Colombia Oil Blocks

[AlphaCentauri]

Sept. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Chevron Corp. and Repsol YPF SA were among the 32 companies approved by Colombia to bid on 43 oil exploration areas as the country seeks to boost output to a million barrels a day by 2020.

Ecopetrol SA, Petroleo Brasileiro SA and Reliance Industries Ltd. joined companies from Turkey, South Korea and China on the list that the National Hydrocarbons Agency, Colombia's oil and gas regulator, posted on its Web site today.

Colombia is seeking to recover from a production decline that threatened to end the country's role as an oil exporter.

Companies will be able to bid Nov. 7 and the government will pick operators by the end of the year, according to the agency. Winners will be required to explore their areas rather than hold and sell them.

China National Petroleum Corp. and Petro Andina Resources Inc. were among six companies that had their applications to take part in the bidding rejected for failure to meet agency requirements.

Melesia Kasha, manager of corporate affairs at Petro Andina, didn't immediately respond to an e-mail seeking comment. A receptionist in CNPC's Caracas office said no one was available to comment. The communications office at the National Hydrocarbons Agency didn't respond to three calls.



http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601086&sid=asy0HyNUIunw&refer=latin_america