Colombia's Ecopetrol Reports Solid Operations in 2024 Despite Lower Profit

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Written by Amir Richani for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Colombian energy producer Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) (Bogota) reported net income of 14.9 trillion Colombian pesos (US$3.6 billion) in 2024, some 4.1 trillion Colombian pesos (US$999 million) less than in 2023. The sharp drop in net income resulted from hydrocarbon price shifts, exchange rates and inflation.

For fourth-quarter 2024, net income was 3.9 trillion pesos (US$944 million), 300 billion pesos (US$72 million) less than in fourth-quarter 2023.

Despite the lower financial results, the company maintained solid operations, with an output of 746,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (BOE/d) last year, about 1.2% more than in 2023 and exceeding the 2024 target. This was the highest yearly production level in nine years.

The increase was led by the Ecopetrol Permian unit, which operates in the United States. Output by the unit increased by 41.3% year over year. The company's output in the U.S. was 93,800 BOE/d, despite the asset's natural decline toward the fourth quarter.

In 2024, the state-run company replaced its reserves 104% after incorporating 260 million barrels equivalent (BOE) to reach a total of 1.89 million BOE. Ecopetrol's average reserve life stands at 7.8 years for oil and 6.7 years for gas.

The solid exploration and production performance comes despite Colombian President Gustavo Petro's steadfast opposition to the extraction of hydrocarbons.

Instead, Petro supports the growth of renewable technologies and Ecopetrol's movement toward the electricity and renewable sectors.

In 2024, Ecopetrol, historically an oil producer, attained 610 megawatts (MW) of non-conventional renewable energy sources. Of those, 404 MW were operational, 108 MW were in construction and 99 MW were under execution.

Under Petro's government, the company's transition to renewables is likely to continue.

Meanwhile, in the downstream front, the company reported a combined throughput of 413,800 barrels of oil per day (BBL/d) in 2024 across its Barrancabermeja and Cartagena refineries, the second-best historical year in processing rates and refined production with an output of 408,800 BBL/d.

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