(Adds auction results, government comment, byline)
By Peter Murphy
CARTAGENA, Colombia, July 23 (Reuters) - Colombia drew bidsfor fewer than one third of the blocks it offered at its 2014oil round on Wednesday, the government said, with most interestin more familiar and explored regions, which may make it tougherto boost stagnant reserves.
Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Exxon Mobil Corp,Anadarko Petroleum Corp and Spain's Repsol SA were among the biggest of 19 companies that bid for 26 of 95blocks offered by Latin America's fourth-biggest oil producer.
The blocks are expected to bring around $1.4 billion ininvestment, the Energy Ministry and National Hydrocarbons Agencysaid, hailing as "positive" results that fell a bit short of the30 percent of blocks on which they expected bids.
Officials had estimated that 40 percent of the blocks wouldbe auctioned off, and some participants expressed surprise thatthere was not more interest in offshore blocks or high riskhigh-reward areas for which little research exists.
"This is a round of frontier areas. Companies are cautiousin frontier areas. These are very unexplored areas," OrlandoCabrales, vice minister for energy, told reporters.
The bidding round is important to Colombia, with about 1million barrels of daily output, as an opportunity to drawinvestment and boost reserves that have stagnated at aroundseven years' worth of production or 2.45 billion barrels as ofthe end of 2013.
Cabrales said the oil round took place at a time when theoil industry is focusing more on assets offering short-termreturns. Consistent with that, smaller, more familiar areas drew the strongest bidder interest on Wednesday.
SHALE SNUBBED
Among the highlights of the bidding was Statoil's entry intoColombia with a one-third stake in the Col 4 offshore area alongwith Repsol and Exxon Mobil as partners. Anadarko was a lonebidder for the Col 1 offshore area.
Anadarko will explore an area equivalent to 32,000 squarekilometers, roughly the total area explored in Colombia in atypical year, said Javier Betancourt, president of the NationalHydrocarbons Agency (ANH).
State owned Ecopetrol was the highest bidder for fiveblocks, one in partnership with Shell.
The definitive list of winning bids and awarding of rightswill take place on August 11, the ANH said, once offers havebeen certified in conformity with the government's criteria. Apreliminary list of eligible bids will be issued on July 31.
Toronto-listed Parex Resources was the highestbidder for the only one of 18 non-conventional, or shale, areasthat was auctioned off. Colombia expects interest in its shaleto rise once pioneering companies begin to show results.
"In non-conventional we were expecting more. Withnon-conventional it's not a question of whether the resourcesexist but whether investment can be justified," said Betancourt.
Bids were submitted as a percentage of production thatcompanies offered to give to the government together with thesum the bidder was prepared to invest in further exploration. (Editing by Matthew Lewis)
