The Export-Import Bank of the United States has given final approval to nearly $1 billion dollars of loans to Colombia’s Ecopetrol SA, it said in a statement on Monday.
The Bank said it has given final approval to a $420 million medium-term loan guarantee facility and a $459.8 million long-term loan guarantee facility. The loans will help finance the sale of goods and services from various U.S. exporters to Ecopetrol S.A., and will help Ecopetrol develop oil and gas reserves, improve production and upgrade refineries.
The long-term loan guarantee facility will help modernize the Berrancabermeja refinery, Colombia’s largest refinery, the bank said.
Colombia is one of nine economies the Ex-Im Bank is targeting for increased U.S. exports, it said.
The bank in January 2010 announced preliminary approval for $1 billion worth of loans.