The Platero project involves fracking investigations in the Valle Medio del Magdalena basin. Credit: Anita starzycka from Pixabay.

Colombia’s National Hydrocarbons Agency (ANH) has reportedly made provisional approval for US-based oil company ExxonMobil’s pilot project for hydraulic fracturing in the country.

Estimated to cost $53m, the project, named ‘Platero’, involves fracking investigations in the Valle Medio del Magdalena basin, reported Reuters.

The Platero project makes ExxonMobil the second company to begin fracking work in the country, with the first being Colombia’s majority state-owned oil company, Ecopetrol.

An ANH spokeswoman told Reuters that a contract is planned to be signed for the Platero project from 8 April.

Earlier, Colombia’s highest administrative court approved fracking pilot projects, which would gather scientific information.

Based on the information, decisions will be made about the future development of potential non-conventional energy deposits.

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Although development of non-conventional energy deposits such as fracking for shale gas and coal bed methane is polarizing in the South American country, commercial development is prohibited for such deposits.

Environmental activists warn that the fracking and other non-conventional hydrocarbon sources could cause damage to the environment and threaten communities, according to the news agency.

Earlier this year, ExxonMobil announced the launch of ExxonMobil Low Carbon Solutions, a new business unit to commercialise low-carbon and emission-reduction technologies.

The new division will initially focus on carbon capture and storage (CCS) in a bid to achieve net-zero emissions and goals outlined in the Paris Agreement.

Several new CCS projects along the US Gulf Coast are being assessed by ExxonMobil Low Carbon Solutions with a potential to collect millions of tonnes of CO₂ from industrial sources, to be stored on onshore and offshore geologic formations.

ExxonMobil aims to invest $3bn in lower emissions energy solutions until 2025.