Suspected FARC rebels have kidnapped 23 Colombian oil contractors carrying out exploration work for Canada's Talisman Energy.
Vichada provincial governor Juan Carlos Avila said gunmen forced the contract workers out of the camp from where they were conducting work for Talisman.
'They entered the camp and forced the 23 to go with them into the jungles,' Mr Avila told Caracol Radio, saying that all those kidnapped were Colombian nationals.
The Colombian army said the gunmen appeared to belong to a local unit of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).
A spokeswoman for Talisman in Canada would not comment on the incident.
The Canadian company recently finished the purchase of BP operations in Colombia with Ecopetrol.
Colombia has recently enjoyed a boom in petroleum and mining investment as violence from its long war has subsided.
However, illegal armed groups remain a threat in remote areas where the state's presence is weak.
