Tag Archives: Colombian Imports

Oil production in Venezuela has fallen swiftly and the country which was once the world’s fifth-largest oil exporter, now sits in the 11^th spot. In 2002, President Hugo Chavez was responsible for firing nearly 20,000 oil production workers after being criticized for mismanagement of the country and after revolts from workers arose, quoted, “I don’t have any problems firing everyone I need to fire,” Since those days, many of these oil workers from petroleum engineers to geologists and managers who were banished have taken their highly valued skills to countries such as Iraq and Canada.

This surge of Venezuelan petro-scientists has been however, most vital in Colombia, where production of crude has sharply increased from  540,000 barrels to 1 million only since 2005.

Oil companies such as Pacific Rubiales Energy, which is listed on the Toronto stock exchange has increased production from 14,000 barrels a day to 224,000 just last week since as recently as 2007. Much of the top management from a Venezuelan oil company Pdvsa is now top management with Pacific Rubiales and brings on average 25 years of experience.

Colombia is now being considered as a destination and much of rural Colombia has been pacified after a long army offensive supported by U.S. aid in addition to Colombia’s previous government which offered financial incentives that lured scores of oil companies. One in particular who was noted for sharply criticizing Chavez who is now in Colombia, is Calderon who had once led Pdvsa, was recently interviewed and in response to the question, ‘Where could we go?’ which was posed in 2002 now answers, “Colombia has thousands of square kilometers of basins that have not been explored,” “So we said, ‘There’s great potential. We have to go there.’ ” and with their links to the oil industry and investors, they were able to raise enough capital to begin operations in Colombia. German Hernandez, a Colombian who oversees operations was quoted saying, “We were fewer than 20 people, practically living in tents with mosquito netting, today we are the number one project in the petroleum industry in Colombia.”

Article revised from the Washinton Post, By Juan Forero, Published: September 15