The board of directors visits Colombia
In a recent visit to Colombia, the new board of directors of Interoil Exploration and Production ASA gained valuable first-hand insights about the company’s operation and organization, its challenges and opportunities in the country.
The two-day visit in late September comprised meetings with the management and the technical team in Bogota, as well as with the operational team on the production block Puli-C in Piedras.
The chairman of the board, Mr Leif Chr Salomonsen, says the visit greatly improved the board’s understanding of Interoil’s operations and organization and that this will be an important constituent in the board’s evaluation of the group’s business plan and strategy.
“The distance between the IOX head office in Oslo and the location of the operations is significant, both in terms of geography and time. Hence, it is important also for the board to get closer to our operations and get to know our employees and their competencies. This will enable the board to better understand and assess Interoil’s strengths and weaknesses”, says Mr Salomonsen.
The board held several meetings with employees at Interoil Colombia’s office in Bogota, and was given a detailed tour of the operations at the Puli-C block in Piedras.
“You get a very different perspective when you see the operations and get to meet the Interoil employees in person. Our general impression is that the restructuring of the organization in Colombia is on track and has resulted in significant technical and operational competencies that we will rely on in realizing the company’s values.
“It is also highly appreciated to notice that QHSE (quality, health, safety and environment) is high on the priority list. Last, but not least, the enthusiasm and dedication among the employees is encouraging”, Mr Salomonsen continues.
As previously communicated, Interoil Colombia aims to drill one well in the Lince-Leopardo prospect in the northwestern area of the LLA-47 block, to be started in December 2014. The exploration team presented and explained the exploratory opportunities of the block to the board members, who were encouraged by the presentations
Mr Salomonsen also commented that the board sees a great potential in the Lince-Leopardo prospect, which also has been confirmed through peer review. The drilling of the first well in LLA-47 is an important trigger that will hopefully demonstrate the value of the block.
After the appointment of the new management in Interoil Colombia late 2013, the organization has been focusing on operational improvements and HSE. Although many improvements have been achieved since then, the chairman acknowledges that there are still challenges ahead, which must be dealt with in order for the group to create value for its shareholders and employees.
The chairman continues: “We acknowledge that it will require more time and further investments than we initially expected to develop the Puli-C field. We are of course disappointed that the expected result has not yet materialized; however, we remain confident in the asset potential of the block,” he said.
“We are working diligently in finalizing our static (geological) and dynamic (reservoir) models. This will enable us to better understand the block, the reservoir behavior and the production trend in general. The output of this process will be a revised field development plan. We have come a long way towards our common goals, but we still have a way to go to achieve these important milestones”.
The chairman is also committed to increase predictability. “We depend on trust from our surroundings”, he says, and concludes with the following message to the organization: “We must at all times keep in mind that we cannot make promises we cannot deliver and we need to have open and constructive dialogue about both challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.”
