ExxonMobil’s plan to develop a pilot project for hydraulic fracturing, known as fracking, in the Valle Medio del Magdalena basin in Colombia has been provisionally approved by Colombia authority, according to Reuters.

According to Colombia’s National Hydrocarbons Agency (ANH), the project is expected to attract $53 million in investment. The contract of the project will be signed on April 8.

Colombia’s highest administrative court gave the green light for fracking pilot projects, intended to gather scientific information so decisions about the future development of non-conventional energy deposits can be made.

It is worth noting that ExxonMobil becomes the second company to begin a fracking pilot project in Colombia with the Platero investigative project, after the majority state-owned oil company Ecopetrol.