Colombia's majority state-owned oil producer Ecopetrol (ECO.CN), opens new tab is planning to raise up to $2 billion in additional debt this year to fund investments, and would consider seeking funds from banks and capital markets, a top official said on Wednesday.
The debt would be used to fund inorganic investments, such as the acquisition of new assets or projects.
Corporate Vice President of Finance Camilo Barco said in a call with investors that the Ecopetrol board had authorised $1 billion in structural debt and a further $1 billion as a temporary measure.
Barco said he was confident the investment plan would accelerate in the second part of this year, and that "some financing operations" would be necessary in order to carry out the inorganic investment plan.
Chief Executive Ricardo Roa said Enel's (ENEI.MI), opens new tab Windpeshi wind project, in the northern La Guajira department, was a possible target, and that both companies had been working on a potential deal.
Ecopetrol has set a $5.9 billion to $6.8 billion investment plan for this year, funded mainly by its own cash reserves, which ended 2024 at $4.4 billion.
The company also expects production between 740,000 and 750,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) in 2025, Rafael Guzman, vice president of hydrocarbons, said.
The company had an average production of 745,800 boepd last year, the highest level in nine years.
The forecast incorporates production from its recent acquisition of a 45% stake in the CPO-09 field from Repsol (REP.MC), opens new tab, while also taking into account the field's environmental risks, Guzman said.
Ecopetrol, whose shares are 88.5% held by the Colombian government, earlier reported a nearly 22% annual net profit drop in 2024, hit by a stronger U.S. dollar and lower international oil prices.
