Colombia’s state-led oil and gas giant Ecopetrol has discovered new oil in central Colombia, the company said Monday.
“The discovery is key because it adds another finding to a March discovery in the same block,” said President of Ecopetrol Javier Gutierrez in a press release. “The discovery marks the third new finding for Ecopetrol in 2013.
Ecopetrol’s discoveries in the central Colombia department of Meta are especially favorable to the company as Ecopetrol owns 100% of the bloc, meaning it will not have to split profits with other partners.
Ecopetrol could benefit from the added production as well, as the company hopes to boost sales to Asia’s growing economies, where the company’s share of sales has increased to 36% from 26% half a year ago.
MORE: Ecopetrol tries easing investors’ concerns over disappointing net profit results
Though Ecopetrol tried to highlight some strong starts to the year on a conference call with investors, like its profit margins, which remained strong at 44% in the first quarter of 2013, investors watched price per share tumble by 3% from $62.11 to $54.64 on the New York Stock Exchange over the same period. Net profits were lower than the same quarter in 2012 as well.
Ecopetrol trades on the Toronto, New York and Bogotá exchanges. 88% of its shares are owned by the Colombian state.
Sources
- Ecopetrol anuncia nuevo hallazgo de hidrocarburos en el Meta (Ecopetrol)
- Ecopetrol price per share data, NYSE (Google Finance)
