One of Colombia’s largest petroleum companies, the state-owned Ecopetrol, will invest $9.5 billion in attempts to dramatically increase oil production in 2013, local media reported Wednesday.
According to local media, Ecopetrol plans to invest the $9.5 billion in a bid to reach its one million barrels per day target by 2015. Of the $9.5 billion, the state-owned oil giant will invest $6.59 billion, while its subsidiaries will invest $2.96 billion.
Ecopetrol, which is 88% owned by the Colombian government, reported a 22% drop in profits during the third quarter of 2012 as sales volume fell and the cost of protecting its pipelines and fields rose. An October statement from the company, however, attributed the decline to litigation costs, lower global prices for crude oil and slower increases in production levels.
Ecopetrol announced plans on drill 33 new wells and 11 exploratory shafts in 2013. The company also recently reported that it will form a 50% partnership with the U.S. based Anadarko Petroleum Corporation to