Wedoany.com Report-Nov. 14, Colombia’s state-run energy company Ecopetrol said on Thursday that it expects to execute about $6.3 billion in investments in 2025, representing around 90% of its planned target. Executives shared the information during an interview with Reuters, adding that the company could close the year with five additional exploratory wells drilled.

Earlier on Thursday, Ecopetrol reported its third-quarter results, showing a 30% year-on-year decrease in net profit to 2.56 trillion pesos ($689 million). The company attributed the decline to weaker sales volumes and lower crude prices. Its production for the quarter averaged 751,500 barrels of oil equivalent per day, a slight 0.4% drop compared with the same period in 2024.

Hydrocarbons vice president Rafael Guzman said the company has already reached its 2025 goal of drilling ten exploratory wells, but there is still room to add more. Guzman said: “We expect to complete the three wells that were being drilled at the end of the quarter, finish them by year-end and we have options to drill a couple more.” This outlook suggests continued activity in exploration despite recent financial results.

Chief financial officer Camilo Barco said Ecopetrol’s investment execution for the year remains on track. He said: “For this year we had an approximate budget of $6.3 billion, with flexibility of $500 million. That investment plan is 72% complete and we expect to reach about 90% execution by year-end.” Barco added: “There may be some level of under-execution, which we estimate could be around 5%.” The company also expects to end 2025 with cash reserves between 12 trillion and 14 trillion pesos, reflecting stable financial planning.

Vice president of strategy Julian Fernando Lemos said Ecopetrol plans to announce before year-end a partner to help boost production at one of its fields. Lemos said: “As part of our strategy to increase activity in fields where we believe – and are sure – there is potential to keep operating and producing crude, we aim to bring in partners under a structure similar to the one we used last year with Parex.” He added that confidentiality agreements limit the information the company can share, but “what we seek is to attract investment in fields and areas where Ecopetrol does not necessarily focus its investment today, but where we believe there is potential for recovery, higher output and reserve additions.”

Overall, Ecopetrol’s executives signaled continued progress in investment execution, exploration, and partnership development, while maintaining neutral and steady expectations for production and financial performance moving toward the end of 2025.