Production - Foreign - Petroleum Developments in Colombia during 1939

The total oil production from Colombia during 1939 amounted to 23,774,151 bbl., constituting a new high record. Of this amount the Tropical Oil Co. produced 22,374,151 bbl. from its De Mares concession and the Colombian Petroleum Co. produced 1,400,000 bbl. from its Barco concession beyond the eastern Andes. The Socony Vacuum Oil Co. produced a small amount of crude from its Las Monas wells north of the Sogamoso River in the Magdalena Valley for consumption on its own property, but this is not included in the figures given above. The South American Gulf Oil Co. provided the outstanding development in the country by the completion, late in the year, of its 12-in. pipe line from the Colombian Petroleum Company's Barco concession to the coast at Covenas. This was a notable accomplishment, achieved in the face of tremendous natural obstacles. With the completion of this line there are now two crude-oil outlets from the interior of Colombia to the coast, the other being the Andian National Corporation's line down the Magdalena Valley from Barranca Bermeja. The Barco property becomes the second major producing area in Colombia. The acquisition of prospectivc oil lands continued at about the same level as during the prcvious year. Most of the lands taken up or applied for had their subsurface rights vested in the National Government. Relatively little interest was taken in the leasing of privately owned lands. Tropical surrendered its Putana concession on the Sogamoso River after finding it to he nonproductive. The status of applications for National lands that had been accepbed or on which concession contracts had been awarded at the end of the year is shown in Table 3. In the Magdalena Valley wildcat drilling in the search of new fields was conducted to the east of Puerto Berrio by the Compania de Petroleo Shell de Colombia, Compania Coloinbiaila de Petroleos El Condor and by the Sociedad Nacional del Carare; further down the valley to the cast of Puerto Wilches, the Socony T'acuum was drilling two wildcats. No discoveries resulted from this exploratory work. On the Barco conces-