Colombia's Ecopetrol will invest $6.3 billion by 2025 and drill five more wells

Ecopetrol ECO.CN, Colombia's state energy company, expects to invest $6.3 billion by 2025, which is 90% of the target. The company executives said in an interview with the Colombian press on Thursday that the company could end the year drilling five more exploratory wells. In an interview on Thursday, executives from the company said that they expect to execute $6.3 billion in investments in 2025, which is 90% of their target. They also added that it could close the year with five additional exploratory wells drilled. The company's production fell 0.4%, to 751,500 barrels equivalents per day, compared to the same period of 2024.

Rafael Guzman, vice president of hydrocarbons, said that the company had already achieved its goal to drill ten exploratory holes in 2025. However, he sees an opportunity to drill another five, he added.

Guzman stated that "we expect to finish the three wells which were being drilled by the end of the third quarter. We will complete them before the year's end and have the option to drill two more."

Chief financial officer Camilo barco stated that the company will almost reach its target in terms of investment.

He said that this year, we had a budget of approximately $6.3 billion with a $500 million flexibility. "This investment plan is 72% completed and we expect it to be 90% executed by the end of the year."

Barco said that there could be a level of under-execution. We estimate this to be about 5%.

The company anticipates ending 2025 with between 12 trillion to 14 trillion pesos in cash.

Ecopetrol will announce before the end of the year a partner who can help increase production in one of its fields, said Julian Fernando Lemos, vice president for strategy.

Lemos stated that "as part of our strategic plan to increase activity on fields where we are certain there is potential for them to continue operating and producing crude oil, we intend to bring in partners using a similar structure to what we used with Parex last year."

He added that the company was bound by confidentiality agreements. "What we seek to do is attract investment into fields and areas in which Ecopetrol is not currently investing, but we believe have potential for higher output, reserve additions, and recovery." Nelson Bocanegra reported the story.

(source: Reuters)