Ecopetrol's production is up 12 percent over last year. (Photo: Ecopetrol)
As Ecopetrol prepares to float more stock, it posts strong growth in production and income.
BY MIKE CEASER
BOGOTA — Soaring prices for its products might be cause for complacency for many companies. But recent record world oil prices have coincided with something of a rebirth for Ecopetrol, Colombia's 57-year-old state oil company.
Only a few years ago, Ecopetrol was seen by many as one of the region's laggards, short on both investment capital and financial autonomy. Today, with a new legal framework and a capital injection from the public sale of ten percent of its stock, company officials are brimming with expansion plans.
Ecopetrol "has been one of the star performers among state oil companies" in the region, says Patrick Esteruelas, an analyst who follows Colombian oil news for the The Eurasia Group.
This year, Ecopetrol's production is up 12 percent over last year, and income up 176 percent.
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