Reservoir Group member and international coring specialist Corpro has declared plans to expand its South American operations, with new premises and appointments in Colombia and Brazil.

Recognising the region’s growth potential, Reservoir Group has decided to take full control of Corpro’s coring operations in Colombia and Brazil with the agreement of its former local partners. While Corpro has been providing services in Brazil and Columbia for almost ten years with their support, an increase in demand for its services and the requirement for an on-the-ground presence, has led to Reservoir Group taking the decision to establish two autonomous operational bases in the region. While the changes in Colombia have already been implemented, the migration in Brazil will take place over a transitional period lasting several months, managed jointly with former agent, National Oilwell Varco.

The new South American operations’ will be staffed principally by local personnel already involved in the business. In Colombia, Augusto Trujillo has been promoted to country manager and will be assisted by Adriana Chitiva as finance and administrative manager. Alexi Lopez will become country manager for Brazil, where he will be supported by Luis Souza in the finance and administrative role. New warehouses and offices have been rented in Bogota, Macae and Rio – and the transition from the former local partners has been organised smoothly for clients and other stakeholders.

Corpro’s regional manager for Africa and South America, Jean Francois Mallet, said: “We have now established a strong base to further grow our operations in South America in order to better serve our customers. With good employment opportunities for local staff and a focus on their development through our internal training programs, we are excited at the prospects for our business in the region. I want to congratulate Augusto and Alexi on their promotion and welcome Adriana and Luis to our group.”

Pascal Bartette, CEO of Reservoir Group, said: “We have been operating in South America through our independent local partners for almost ten years and we are very grateful for their support and the success that we shared over that period. We will now use Corpro’s presence and infrastructure to provide opportunities for other members of the Reservoir Group to develop their presence in Latin America. This is an approach that we have implemented successfully in other parts of the world.

“Our investment in new premises and staff demonstrates our commitment to development in the region and I am confident that our product range and service provision will be a natural fit for the challenges South America poses in terms of the development and exploration of both its conventional and frontier resources.”

Tags: Reservoir Group