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William Ariza F.

COLOMBIA - Energy & Mining

a critical time

CEO & General Manager, Galqui-Tececor

Bio

William Ariza F. has 35 years of experience working for service companies within the oil sector in Colombia, in areas such as drilling, production, and environment.

TBY talks to William Ariza F., CEO & General Manager of Galqui-Tececor, on the company's specializations, innovation, and the outlook for the future.

In what areas is Galqui specialized?

We are a Colombian company specializing in oil services. We guarantee operators and oil service companies a standardized and efficient execution of our services. We prioritize customer satisfaction as well as the health and physical integrity of our workers, whilst managing the environmental impact of our work. We also focus on the social responsibility we have to the communities where we operate. We specialize in water and waste treatment, engineering, and management of plants, as well as other services such as design, supply, installation, and operation of water treatment plants, for oil production, industrial and domestic water, treatment and disposal of special waste, tank cleaning procedures under work in confined spaces, equipment rental storage, and mobilization of special fluids for the oil industry. One of our main aims is to send back treated water to the fields from where it was extracted in order to efficiently manage the resource.

How does the company invest in innovation?

In water treatment, we have improved hydraulic designs and have incorporated some technologies that have driven up innovation in the sector. For example, we have imported water pumps from Japan that generate micro bubbles. This shortens the treatment process as well as increases the quality of the water. We are still looking for new technologies abroad that would enable us to recycle this water and use it in the industrial process it originates from. This would benefit companies using large volumes of water, especially because it would help them to economize in terms of licenses. This is already happening on a small scale, but we want to start implementing it on a much larger scale across the entire country.

How do you see Colombian oil reserves in the medium to long term?

It is critical for the country to invest in exploration and research, especially taking into account the important role that oil plays in the economy. Colombia has its own supply secured for at least seven years; however, there has not been enough investment in exploration lately for a medium- to long-term vision, which needs regular investment. If the country does not discover a large field within the next couple of years, the situation might become critical.

What other industries offer opportunities for Galqui?

We would like to research a new technology process that takes advantage of the temperature of residual water above ground to generate electricity. We have a joint project with the Universidad Nacional and we are looking for expertise in this particular area. The Rubiales field produces about 3 million barrels of water and the temperature of that water is very high and it needs to be cooled before it can be properly treated. This is expensive and our idea is to increase that temperature in order to generate electricity. We are currently developing a working team with a Spanish company to implement this project.

What is your medium-term outlook for the oil industry in the region?

Each market is at a particular point. For example, Mexico is currently restructuring its oil industry after the Pemex years. Pemex provides interesting challenges in terms of how to increase production levels. The production potential is huge in Mexico; hence, why we have already set up meetings with Pemex. Peru is a completely different field; it has yet to be explored and reserves are widespread. Some discoveries have already been made such as Los Angeles field. Argentina has some promising fields such as Vaca Muerta, which has great potential.

What are your expectations for Galqui for 2016?

We hope to double our income for 2016 after a three-year period in which we invested a great deal in the Tececor plant and its construction. After that period of time, this year we already had some positive cash flow and we have high hopes for 2016; we have interesting projects and contracts.

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