Wedoany.com Report-Dec 02, Ecopetrol S.A. Board of Directors have approved the 2025 investment budget of the Ecopetrol Group for an amount between 24 and 28 trillion pesos, with more than half the approved budget earmarked for crude and gas exploration and production.
Approximately 20.3 trillion pesos are expected to be allocated in 2025, corresponding to 76% of the annual budget, for profitable production between 740,000 and 745,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boed), an average refinery load between 415,000 and 420,000 bpd, and transportation between 1,130,000 and 1,170,000 bpd.
Hydrocarbons line
For 2025, investments in the exploration and production segment are expected to be approximately 17.2 trillion pesos (approximately 52% of the annual budget for crude oil-related investments and around 12% for gas-related investments) and are expected to allow organic production levels in 2025 between 740,000 and 745,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (78% crude, 17% gas, and 5% white products), seeking to implement recovery technologies to optimize the use of available resources and maintain production levels. Crude oil production in Colombia is expected to continue growing and compensating for the natural decline of gas fields.
In 2025, Ecopetrol plans to drill between 455 and 465 development wells, of which 79% would be executed in Colombia and the remaining 21% in the United States. In terms of exploration, Ecopetrol has plans to drill 10 wells mainly in the Llanos area and offshore Caribbean of Colombia. Gas investments are estimated between 3.1 and 3.3 trillion pesos in 2025, mainly in the Piedemonte Llanero and offshore, to develop Caribbean Colombia gas, contributing to a production of approximately 123,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (which represents about ~700 million cubic feet of natural gas), of which 85% would represent gas supply for the country.
Investments in the refining segment are expected to reach approximately 1.6 trillion pesos, corresponding to 6% of the total investment amount estimated for 2025, and are expected to be focused on ensuring the reliability, availability, and sustainability of the operation of the Barrancabermeja and Cartagena refineries, ensuring the development of programs that would reduce product imports, ensuring better quality fuels, and maturing renewable fuel (SAF) projects. The joint load of the refineries is expected to be between 415,000 and 420,000 barrels per day.
Energies for the transition line
To advance the energy transition in parallel with the decarbonization of operations in the hydrocarbons business, the annual investment budget has also foreseen to allocate resources to unconventional renewable energy and energy efficiency projects, among others.
The financial plan for 2025 seeks to ensure competitive returns in a scenario of Brent prices averaging US$73/barrel, generating an EBITDA margin at levels close to 39%. The plan incorporates efficiency targets for 2025, exceeding 4 trillion pesos, aiming to capture savings in operational management and investment projects, to achieve improvements in their lifting cost, total refining cost and cost per barrel transported indicators.
About Ecopetrol
Ecopetrol is the largest company in Colombia and one of the main integrated energy companies in the American continent. In Colombia, it is responsible for more than 60% of the hydrocarbon production of most transportation, logistics, and hydrocarbon refining systems, and it holds leading positions in the petrochemicals and gas distribution segments. At the international level, Ecopetrol has a stake in strategic basins in the American continent, with drilling and exploration operations in the United States (Permian basin and the Gulf of Mexico) and Brazil.
