Colombia announced on Friday the discovery of two new petroleum deposits in the department of Arauca on the Venezuelan border.

The discovery was initially revealed by the governor of Arauca, Julio Acosta Bernal.

According to Acosta, in the two municipalities where the new deposits were found, exploration is undertaken by US oil firm OXYand Spanish firm Repsol.

Colombian Mining and Energy Minister Luis Ernesto Mejia confirmed the discovery but remained cautious, saying it is too soon to make calculations on the potential of the deposits or to tell whether the deposits are commercially exploitable.

In the 1980s, OXY found in Arauca department the Cano Limon deposit, one of the most important in the history of the country and from which great volumes of petroleum are still being extracted.

An important decrease in crude production has been reported as of lately in Colombia and it is estimated that by 2009 the country will have to import petroleum.

Source: Xinhua