Canacol Energy’s stock rose +6.2% on the Colombian Stock Exchange (BVC) and +3.51% on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) on Friday, May 24, 2024 due to reports of a possible purchase of Ecopetrol from the Canadian company. (Related: Ecopetrol would buy Canacol Energy in a multimillion-dollar transaction)
President Petro’s government feels pressure in the face of the latest report from the National Hydrocarbons Agency (ANH) where it mentions that Proven natural gas reserves fell to 2.37 trillion cubic feet in 2023 from 2.82 trillion cubic feetofficials said Friday.
Gas reserves, a matter of energy sovereignty
Hydrocarbons agency ANH said natural gas supplies, in particular, had been hit over the past decade by a lack of new discoveries and rising demand.
«We have to take action now to compensate«said the president of the ANH, Orlando Velandia, at a press conference.
Energy Minister Andrés Camacho insisted that the government was taking measures to increase contingent resources and avoid a possible shortage in the medium term.
The president of Naturgas, Luz Stella Murgas, also asked the national government to take measures to increase the country’s gas reserves.
As a matter of ‘energy sovereignty‘Exploring and exploiting gas is a direct decision that President Petro’s government must make. If this pace continues, the next president of Colombia will not have gas and without gas there is no industry.
Canacol, an asset that provides energy security
Canacol Energy Ltd. is a natural gas exploration and production company based in Canada with operations focused on Colombia.
The Company’s production consists primarily of natural gas from the Esperanza, VIM-5 and VIM-21 blocks located in the Lower Magdalena Basin in Colombia.
Now, talk began about the purchase of Ecopetrol from Canacol Energy in the last presentation of results where the president of Ecopetrol Ricardo Roa already sees it as a viable option, Ecopetrol has already acquired companies as demonstrated with ISA.
However, on May 10, the international news agency Reuters noted: “Canada’s Canacol Energy (CNE) has not had any discussions with the majority state-owned Colombian oil company Ecopetrol in relation to a transaction over its gas assets in the Andean country, said CEO Charle Gamba.”
Read more: Canacol to Fitch Ratings: the Corporation complies with all its debt covenants.
