Ecopetrol increases Its presence in the Gulf of Mexico (US)

BOGOTA, March 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --  

• Ecopetrol's interest in 5 of the blocks is 100%, while in the remaining 14 blocks it placed bids in partnership with Repsol from Spain and ENI from Italy.

• Including the results from this round, Ecopetrol could raise its presence to over 100 blocks in one of the most attractive areas for exploration in the world.

Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE: EC; BVC: ECOPETROL; BVL: EC) submitted the most competitive bids for 19 blocks in the "Oil & Gas Lease Sale 213" round held today in New Orleans. Bids were submitted by Ecopetrol´s U.S. subsidiary (Ecopetrol America Inc).

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The company´s interest in five of the blocks is 100%, while in ten blocks it placed bids in partnership with Repsol E&P USA Inc., with interests ranging between 40% and 60% for Ecopetrol. In the remaining four blocks bids were placed in partnership with Eni Petroleum US LLC, with a 25% interest for Ecopetrol.

The results were released by the Mineral Management Services (MMS), the US government agency in charge of conducting the exploration block round in the central region of the Gulf of Mexico.

Total bids submitted by Ecopetrol amount to approximately US $15 million

These blocks will allow deep sea hydrocarbon exploration at depths of over 400 meters for a 5 to 10-year period.

The next step is the formal award of blocks by MMS, which will take place between 60 and 90 days.

77 companies participated in the Gulf of Mexico (US) offshore round, placing 642 bids on 468 blocks. The total area offered is 2.4 million acres.

Today's results are in line with the company's internationalization process, being the Gulf of Mexico (U.S.) one of its focus areas The internationalization process makes part of the strategy to reach a production of one million barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2015.

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Ecopetrol is Colombia's largest integrated oil company and is among the top 40 oil companies in the world and the four largest oil companies in Latin America. Besides Colombia, where it accounts for 60% of total production, the Company is involved in exploration and production activities in Brazil, Peru and the United States (Gulf of Mexico). Ecopetrol has the principal refinery in Colombia, most of the network of oil and multiple purpose pipelines in the country, and it is considerably increasing its participation in biofuels.

This release contains forward-looking statements relating to the prospects of the business, estimates for operating and financial results, and those related to growth prospects of Ecopetrol. These are merely projections and, as such, are based exclusively on the expectations of management concerning the future of the business and its continued access to capital to fund the Company's business plan. Such forward-looking statements depend, substantially, on changes in market conditions, government regulations, competitive pressures, the performance of the Colombian economy and the industry, among other factors; therefore, they are subject to change without prior notice.

SOURCE Ecopetrol S.A.