On October 07, 2020, the Ministry of Mines and Energy issued Resolution 40295 through which the technical criteria for the development of hydrocarbon exploration and exploitation projects in reservoirs were established and developed offshore in Colombia , in order to promote its safe and sustainable development.
Based on the foregoing, it is established that the Resolution will apply to oilfield operators and service providers for off-shore activities, who will be obliged to comply with the content of the Resolution and in the event that want to apply other regulations, they must formally request it from the National Hydrocarbons Agency (ANH), technically justifying the change in applicable regulations.
The Resolution establishes, among others, the following technical criteria that must be taken into account and fulfilled by those interested in developing this type of activity:
- Process safety: Prior to the start of operations, operators must present the Process Safety Management program.
- Personnel competence: The operator must guarantee that his personnel have the certified experience necessary to carry out activities, both for the safety of processes and to respond to emergencies.
- Well drilling: The machinery used to perform the drilling must comply with the International Code for the Construction and Equipment of Mobile Drilling Units Offshore. Likewise, it must be ensured that the activities are carried out under appropriate mechanical and structural conditions, thus guaranteeing the integrity of the well.
- Well intervention: To carry out any activity that is considered as intervention, the ANH must be requested to authorize the work through the respective form 7CR.
- Well production: Previously, the development plan for operations must be presented to the ANH, which must contain the basic information of the designs and diagrams of the structure to be used .
On the other hand, it is established that the ANH, directly or through a third party, may carry out scheduled inspections of the equipment used within the operation, with the objective of showing that the equipment used does comply with the content of the Resolution.
Finally, it is established as a transition regime that the current contracts in the exploitation phase must comply with the Resolution in relation to drilling activities, completely and well intervention, while for production the previous regulations must continue to apply.