National Hydrocarbons Agency
| Agencia Nacional de Hidrocarburos | |
 Official logo | |
| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | June 26, 2003[1] |
| Preceding agency | |
| Jurisdiction | Colombia |
| Headquarters | Bogotá, Colombia |
| Agency executive |
|
| Parent agency | Ministry of Mines and Energy |
| Website | ANH.gov.co |
The National Hydrocarbons Agency (NHA) (Spanish: Agencia Nacional de Hidrocarburos) is a government agency in Colombia tasked with administrating and regulating hidrocarbonic resources within the nation.
History[edit]
In 2003, the restructuring of the Colombian hydrocarbon sector was consolidated with the creation of the National Hydrocarbons Agency in response to the critical situation that Colombia was going through due to the decrease in oil reserves, which would eventually lead the country to become an importer of crude oil.[2]
This restructuring contemplated the decision to make Ecopetrol more competitive by separating its dual role as regulator agency and an oil company. For this reason, it was decided that it would only be dedicated to exploring, producing, transporting, refining, and trading hydrocarbons that is working exclusively in the oil business in all phases of the market chain, competing on equal terms with other companies in the sector.
In this way, the National Hydrocarbons Agency acquired from Ecopetrol its role as administrator and regulator of the nation's hydrocarbon resource and began the transformation of Colombia into a new perspective and attractive country for national and foreign investors. Ecopetrol maintains all the areas that it had under direct operation and the Association contracts signed until December 31, 2003.[3]
Operations[edit]
Another fundamental change was the adoption of the new royalty, tax, and duty contract, which replaced the association contract. This model contemplates three (3) different and separate stages: exploration, evaluation, and exploitation, whose duration is aligned with international standards and allows for the State to remain with majority participation.
Likewise, the model is suitable for large projects and companies, as well as for small and medium-sized companies, opening a wide range of opportunities for all investors. On the other hand, the technical evaluation contract (TEA) was introduced through which a large area can be assigned to carry out surface work in order to obtain better information on the presence of hydrocarbons in a specific area, and which it can last up to 18 months. The contractor of a TEA has the first option to sign an exploration and production contract in that area.
During 2003 all the Agency's efforts were aimed at designing strategies that would restore the sector's competitiveness, managing to once again include the country on the world oil map, increase the productivity index and attract private investors.
As a result of this work, a large number of contracts have been signed since the adoption of the new contractual scheme in June 2004. Additionally, the implementation of the new contract has brought large companies such as BHP Billiton and ExxonMobil to the country, which for more than ten years did not explore Colombian territory.
Exploration activity has increased after a drastic drop observed until 2000. Since the creation of the ANH, the area under exploration, the number of E&P contracts signed, the 2D equivalent kilometers of seismic acquired, and the wells drilled have increased. Likewise, significant resources have been invested in the acquisition of geological information that allows the identification of opportunities in mature fields and border areas.[4]
References[edit]
- ↑ Espinosa, Armando B. "Breve Historia del Servicio Geológico Colombiano". National Hydrocarbons Agency. Retrieved January 31, 2021.
- ↑ https://prism.ucalgary.ca/handle/1880/51609
- ↑ https://www.anh.gov.co/la-anh/sobre-la-anh/historia
- ↑ https://www.anh.gov.co/en/about-us/history
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