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Narciso Chiquillo, president, Geoespectro
clients’ operations in Colombia,” says Nelson
López, general manager for Kaeser
Colombia.
The U.S. has been Colombia’s top trading
partner; however, competition is increasing
as other countries aggressively
pursue trade opportunities in Colombia’s
growing market. Upon the approval and
implementation of the U.S.–Colombia
Trade Promotion Agreement, from 2012,
U.S. equipment exporters will be more
competitive as products will receive immediate
duty-free treatment.
“There has always existed an excellent
trade relationship between North and
South America and so North American investors
need to take advantage of that reputation
in order to take maximum benefit
from the great opportunities available,” said
Juan Pablo Jimeno, country manager for
Colombia at CB&I, the multinational EPC
conglomerate.
Bogota is the undeniable hub for
Colombia’s oil and gas industry. Although
operations are spread across the country, almost
every company involved in oil and gas
has its headquarters in the capital. It is unquestionably
the first port of call for any oil
and gas investor looking to meet the country’s
key energy players.
“Foreign companies who want to do
business in Colombia will need to establish
an office in Bogota. This is the city where
the vast majority of the industry is concentrated
and there is a lot of talent available
here,” says Robert Peterson, CFO of Pacific
Process Systems Engineering (PPSE).
PPSE provides engineering services to
E&P and service companies and is focused
on early production facilities for newly discovered
fields and field extensions. The
company was incorporated in California,
where there is a lot of heavy oil experience,
and its aim is to bring this heavy oil and gas
processing expertise to new markets.
Peterson found the process of establishing
a Colombian operation to be a relatively
painless experience: “It is a learning
process. Every country has its own regulations
and own accounting regime and requirements.
We have found support
available and have successfully established
our business here in a relatively short period
of time.”
Seismic sector grows
As a hugely underexplored market, one
of the service sectors that has enjoyed particular
success has been seismic acquisition.
One example of the size of this market has
been the incredible growth of Geoespectro,
a company that was founded in 2009.
“Right now is the time that Colombia is
going to shine,” said Narciso Chiquillo, the
company’s president. “There are a lot of
good Colombian seismic companies and a
very high standard is maintained by the
whole industry here in Colombia. Thankfully,
there has been such a huge growth in
demand that there has been plenty of business
for everyone.”
“The greatest opportunities are in
Colombia,” believes Felipe Lizarralde, general
manager of fellow seismic acquisition
provider G2 Seismic. “We are going to
focus all our efforts in this market because
we are sure the demand for seismic acquisition
is going to keep increasing and that we
will have many opportunities here.”
“I also believe that there are more opportunities
in other services besides seismic,
services which will be required in following
stages of projects such as drilling, transport,
etc. As the sector develops and more companies
move into production, a whole range
of new opportunities could open for us in
this market,” says Lizarralde.
SAExploration is another seismic acquisition
provider that has been operating very
successfully in Peru, commanding 90% of
that market. However, the company saw a
lot of potential in Colombia and opened a
Colombian office in 2008. Since then, the
company has enjoyed ever-increasing demand
for its services.
Arturo Mendez, vice president of marketing
and business development, Latin
America, for SAExploration, believes that
although the Colombian seismic market
could look crowded, in reality very few serious
players exist: “Out of 23 seismic companies
in Colombia, 18 of them are not really
companies, but just a couple of guys getting
together and renting equipment. There are
not many at all that can provide a complete
service and can guarantee the job will be
finished safely, on time, and on budget,” he
says.
Douglas Reichenbach, vice president of
operations, Latin America, for the company
June 2012 ▪ OilandGasInvestor.com C-19