Calgary-based Canacol Energy Ltd. waiting on regulations to frack in the Middle Magdalena Valley in Colombia

Photo: A community blockade in 2016 protested against the Canacol and ConocoPhillips owned Picoplata 1 fracking project near San Martin, Cesar.

As noted on its website, Calgary-based Canacol Energy Ltd. is “the largest independent onshore conventional natural gas exploration and production company in Colombia, supplying approximately 25% of the country’s gas needs.”

On December 17, Valora Analitik reported that in 2021 Canacol Energy will be focused on drilling 12 exploration wells, expanding its inventory of exploration prospects, building a new pipeline from Jobo to Medellin, and strengthening its commitment to its environmental, social and governance (ESG) strategy.

The 264-kilometre gas pipeline from the gas fields of Jobo, Córdoba (near Monteria) on Colombia’s Caribbean coast to Medellin, Antioquia is part of the larger 508-kilometre Northwestern Gas Pipeline (Gasoducto Noroccidente) project that would eventually extend to the capital city of Bogota.

Valora adds: “The first wells in the program will be the Flauta-1 exploration well and the Oboe-2 development well, both scheduled to begin drilling in the first week of January 2021.” Those wells are believed to be in the Lower Magdalena Valley region.

The article also notes that a milestone for the company in 2021 will be to demonstrate zero tolerance for human rights violations.

That said, it does not appear that Canacol Energy has ruled out fracking in Colombia.

In December 2019, Canacol Energy CEO Charle Gamba told La Republica: “Colombia is a little behind on the issue of fracking, as there are communication problems between the industry, the Government and the communities.”

He highlighted: “We must wait for the fracking regulation to come out…”

Then again in September of this year, Gamba told La Republica: “Yes, we have two unconventional oil blocks that we have eight years ago located in the Middle Magdalena to make fracking pilots. We are waiting for the regulatory framework, but we hope to implement these pilots in the next two years.”

In 2015, CNE Oil and Gas, a subsidiary of Canacol Energy, signed a “non-traditional” exploration agreement with the National Hydrocarbons Agency (ANH) for two fracking projects in the department of Cesar.

The Canacol website would suggest these are the VMM-2 and VMM-3 blocks in the Middle Magdalena Valley region.

By September 2016, Carlos Santiago of the Water, Territory and Ecosystems Defence Corporation (CORDATEC) said: “At noon yesterday, a caravan of ConocoPhillips vans arrived [at the Picoplata 1 exploration camp], escorted by armed army and police personnel, intimidating the population and preventing them from taking videos of what was happening, in order to disperse the protest of the villagers.”

The PBI-Colombia accompanied CCALCP legal collective worked with CORDATEC in 2017 to launch a popular action in court to protect the collective rights of the community that would be violated by this fracking project.

Then by March 2019, Reuters reported that ANLA had shelved those projects because they failed to meet minimum environmental requirements.

At that time, Reuters noted: “The companies did not meet minimum conditions for the Piranga project, a source from the licensing authority said, while the Plata project raised possible water protection concerns.”

Significantly, that article also highlighted: “U.S.-based ConocoPhillips and Canada’s Canacol can request to re-open the licensing process for the projects in the future, the source said, adding the decision is not a definitive no.”

It would appear from the interviews that the CEO of Canacol Energy has done with La Republica that it is likely to seek a reopening of those projects.

PBI-Canada continues to follow closely the human rights impacts of Canadian oil and gas companies in Colombia, notably in relation to fracking pilot projects.

Source: This chart is from the Canacol Energy Ltd. website.