Ecopetrol aims at acquisitions

Bloomberg

Colombia’s Ecopetrol SA plans to expand its oil and gas reserves through acquisitions, while also increasing its presence in the US.
The state-owned oil company has identified assets that it may consider buying, Chief Executive Officer Felipe Bayon said at the New York Stock Exchange. “We’re trying to make it happen this year.”
“It needs to be the right fit with the strategy and the right valuation,” Bayon said. “Mexico and Brazil are definitely two of the key places where we want to be, through exploration or through acquisitions.”
The company is focussed on expanding its presence in the US, possibly through joining forces with a partner, he said.
Analysts consider the level of oil reserves as a challenge for the Colombian driller.
Crude is Colombia’s biggest export, yet the nation had reserves equivalent to just over five years of output at the end of last year. That compares to more than forty years for Ecuador and nearly four centuries for Venezuela, according to the BP statistical review.
Colombia is on course to miss the government’s target of 65 wells for the full year. Ecopetrol was operating 33 rigs at the end of the second quarter.