Lloyd’s Register chosen for major exploration drilling project offshore Colombia

LONDON -- Lloyd’s Register’s well management expertise is being used by Ecopetrol Costa Afuera S.A.S. (ECAS) of Ecopetrol, for offshore exploration drilling operations in Colombia.

Ecopetrol Costa Afuera S.A.S. (ECAS), an affiliate company of Ecopetrol, the National Oil Company of Colombia, is contracted with Lloyd’s Register (LR) to provide wells project management services to drill the Molusco-1 exploration well offshore Colombia. Drilling commenced in September.

The project is being delivered over a nine-month period and includes specialist technical and project management expertise covering drilling well management, well engineering, in-country logistics, safety and operations supervision.

LR’s V.P. of wells, Matt Rothnie, says: “The Molusco-1 project marks a significant milestone for ECAS as it is the first offshore drilling project the company will deliver as Operator. The company elected to outsource well management support to provide a high level of assurance that is seeing the Molusco-1 project developed using the latest technical insight to help ECAS operate with confidence.”

Ecopetrol is the largest and primary petroleum company in Colombia, where it accounts for 60% of total production. It is one of the top 50 oil companies in the world and the fourth largest oil company in Latin America. The Company is also involved in exploration and production activities in Brazil, Peru and the United States Gulf Coast, and owns the main refineries in Colombia, most of the network of oil and multiple purpose pipelines in the country, petrochemical plants, and is entering into the biofuels business.

The Molusco (Spanish for Mollusk) prospect is inside Block RC-9, operated by Ecopetrol along with partner India's ONGC Videsh.