Ecopetrol authorizes creation of Colombian subsidiary

The board of directors of Ecopetrol has authorized the creation of a Colombian company indirectly wholly owned by Ecopetrol S.A.

The creation of the new subsidiary seeks to develop offshore activities in Colombia, which the company currently carries out as operator and non-operator, and take advantage of the benefits of Decree 2682/14, “pursuant to which the conditions and requirements are established for declaring the existence of Permanent Offshore Free Trade Zones.” 

Once the new company is settled, the National Hydrocarbons Agency's approval will be sought in order to assign Ecopetrol contractual rights under the exploration and production contracts of the offshore blocks in which it is operator and non-operator.

Ecopetrol is the largest company in Colombia and is an integrated oil and gas company. It is among the top 40 oil companies in the world and among the top four oil companies in Latin America. Besides Colombia — where it generates over 6 percent of the national production — it has exploration and production activities in Brazil, Peru and the Gulf of Mexico.