The 2012 net income of Colombia’s state-run oil company Ecopetrol fell 4.4% compared with 2011 due to slightly lower oil prices and higher costs, and in spite of increased production.
SOURCE: Ecopetrol presenta sus resultados para el cuarto trimestre y el año 2012 (PDF)
The company said Friday that its production increased 4%, but that the oil giant failed to reach last year’s goal of an average of 780,000 barrels per day (BPD). The company said to have produced no more than 754,000 BPD throughout 2012.
Despite the increase in production, Ecopetrol’s consolidated net income last year was 14.8 trillion pesos ($8.3 billion) compared with COP15.5 trillion in 2011, it said. For the fourth quarter, its net profit was COP3.6 trillion, down 18% from that quarter a year earlier.
Last year “was quite challenging for Ecopetrol. Various circumstances related to operations and the overall environment were addressed in order to attain growth and positive results for our shareholders,” chief executive Javier Gutierrez was quoted as saying by Dow Jones Newswires.
The Colombian oil company was facing crude oil prices that dropped 12.44% over the last 12 months while rebels groups like the FARC and ELN stepped up attacks on the oil industry in the first half of 2012, pressuring the company’s ability to produce oil.
MORE: Rise in FARC, ELN attacks hits wallet of Colombia’s oil, mining industries
Ecopetrol is nearly 90% owned by the government, while the rest is traded on stock markets. The company’s shares trade on the Colombian Stock Exchange and in New York.
Other sources
- Colombia’s Oil Company Ecopetrol Profits Fell 4.4% in 2012 (Dow Jones Newswires)
- En 2012 Ecopetrol obtuvo la segunda utilidad más alta de su historia (El Espectador)
- Ecopetrol obtuvo utilidades netas por $15 billones en 2012 (Portfolio)
- iPath S&P GSCI Crude Oil Total Return Index ETN (CNN Money)