Iran Energy News Oil, Gas, Petrochemical and Energy Field Specialized Channel
Related Articles
An ExxonMobil spokesperson has confirmed to Rigzone that the company has exercised its right to withdraw from its joint operating agreement with Patriot Energy for Block VMM37 in Colombia.
“We notified the Agencia Nacional de Hidrocarbons of our intent to withdraw from the E&P contract for VMM37, and to discuss next steps required for the assignment of EM’s interest and operatorship of VMM37, which is subject to required government approvals,” the spokesperson added.
Earlier this week, Sintana Energy Inc. noted in a statement posted on its site that ExxonMobil sent Patriot Energy Oil and Gas Inc., a subsidiary of Sintana, a notice stating that, based on the terms of the joint operating agreement between ExxonMobil and Patriot, it had decided to withdraw from the JOA as of May 31, 2023.
The notice also stated that ExxonMobil will withdraw from the contract with the Agencia Nacional de Hidrocarbons, effective after obtaining required government approvals, Sintana said.
“We are disappointed that our VMM37 partner for more than a decade, ExxonMobil, has voluntarily chosen to withdraw from both the JOA and contract,” Sintana Chief Executive Officer Doug Manner said in a company statement.
Sintana notes on its site that the VMM37 block provides the company with a strategic position in the Middle Magdalena play “with exposure to significant unconventional resource potential”.
The Middle Magdalena is the oldest producing basin in Colombia, dating back to the 1918 discovery of the giant La Cira-Infantas field complex (900 million barrels), Sintana highlights on its site, adding that approximately two billion barrels of oil have been produced in the basin over the last century.
On its site, ExxonMobil outlines that it has had a continuous business presence in Colombia for more than 100 years.
“We have a variety of exploration activities under way through our affiliate ExxonMobil Exploration Colombia Ltd., with our headquarters in Bogotá,” the company states on its site.
“We participle in the fuels and lubricants markets with the Esso and Mobil brands and have imported and sold industrial chemicals for several years,” it adds.
Back in January this year, ExxonMobil announced that it had reached an agreement with Bangchak Corporation to sell its interest in Esso Thailand, which includes the Sriracha Refinery, select distribution terminals, and a network of Esso-branded retail stations.
In its full year 2022 results statement, Exxon noted that its non-core asset sales and divestments generated $5.2 billion of cash proceeds during the year.
