Review of 1970 Petroleum Developments in South America, Central America, and Caribbean Area

Abstract

This review includes information on petroleum developments during 1970 in 30 countries. Petroleum was produced in 10 countries and total production was 1,737,678,000 bbl (4,760,290 b/d), an increase of 2.4% from the previous year. Venezuela furnished 78% of the total as it produced at a high rate of 3,708,000 b/d and registered an increase of 3.2% from the previous year's production. The largest percentage increase in production was 10.1 by Argentina, as the average rate was 392,347 b/d. Production increased 3.7% in Colombia, but declined in all other countries. A total of 1,978 wells was drilled, 351 more than in 1969. Exploration drilling was carried out in 15 countries; however, commercial production was not found in any new country this year. Party-months of geologic and geophysical work were: surface geology, 329; seismograph, 659; gravity, 52; magnetometer, 13; other, 53. Forty-two percent of this work was in Argentina and 17% was in Brazil. Successful exploration drilling was featured in eastern Ecuador and in the offshore southeast of Trinidad; on the discouraging side was the unsuccessful offshore drilling in Argentina and Nicaragua. Significant for future exploration was the awarding of exploration blocks in the North Coast Marine Area of Trinidad, the contracting for exploration of large areas of the llanos of Colombia, and further progress toward the awarding of service contracts for 5 blocks in south Lake Maracaibo.