01-04-03 The Colombian government will ask one of the country's high courts for advice on a natural gas exploration project involving ChevronTexaco to help determine whether the oil giant pays $ 25 mm in royalties or $ 125 mm, the president's office said.
"We have concluded that the national government will consult with the Counsel of State to determine if the production is incremental or a normal field production," said Comptroller General Antonio Hernandez after a meeting with President Alvaro Uribe and Mines and Energy Minister Luis Erneso Mejia.

Hernandez is referring to the Catalina project, a 50:50 joint venture signed Feb. 8 between ChevronTexaco and Colombia's state-owned oil company Ecopetrol for natural gas exploration in the northern Guajira region through 2016. If the government decides the project is for normal production, ChevronTexaco will have to pay about 20 % in royalties, or $ 125 mm. But if it's found to be "incremental," the royalties will be just 7 %, or about $ 25 mm, the president's office said.
The contract in its current form, signed by both parties in February indicates it as "incremental gas production" project, ChevronTexaco said in February. The final decision on whether to alter the contract will be made within the next two months by mines and energy minister Mejia, Ecopetrol said.

ChevronTexaco has been exploring for energy in Colombia since the 1920s and the project in La Guajira has existed since 1974. ChevronTexaco said it planned to invest $ 150 mm in the project. The main USO oil union criticized the contract, saying the Colombian government was giving away its natural resources.
ChevronTexaco, through its local unit Texas Petroleum, and Ecopetrol currently produce more than 80 % of the natural gas consumed in Colombia. The gas comes from Chuchupa, the country's only offshore field, and Ballena, an onshore field located in Guajira state. Together these fields produce on average 500 mm cfpd of gas. The new agreement would enable both companies to develop and produce an additional 1 tcf of natural gas reserves that are still in the area.