Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Agreement reached for Colombia's Ecopetrol to buy French company Hocol

Special Report:Global Financial Crisis  



BOGOTA, March 10 (Chinese media) -- Colombian oil company Ecopetrol announced on Tuesday that the deal has been struck for its acquisition of French oil company Hocol.

Ecopetrol president Javier Gutierrez said it reached agreement on Tuesday in Paris with the owner of Hocol, French firm Maurel and Prom. The deal was worth 580 million dollars, including 168 million dollars of working capital.

The two companies are still waiting for the approval of the Colombian authorities as required by the legal procedures.

Hocol has engaged in extraction and exploration operations in Colombia since 1962. In 2008, Hocol's daily output in Colombia stood at 15,000 oil barrels and it has potential to reach 22,000 barrels.

Gutierrez said the acquisition of Hocol, which would be one of the biggest financial operations that Ecopetrol has ever made, would help Ecopetrol move closer to its goal of producing 1 million barrels per day in 2015.

Ecopetrol is one of the 35 largest oil companies in the world and the largest company in Colombia.



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