Colombia's Ecopetrol plans to buy Petro-Tech

Colombia's state oil company Ecopetrol SA is planning to buy Petro-Tech Peruana SA, Peru's third-largest crude oil producer, Colombian Mining and Energy Minister Hernan Martinez said on Monday.

Ecopetrol, which is exploring for oil in Peru's northern jungle with Brazil's Petroleo Brasileiro SA and Petroleos del Peru SA, plans to increase investment in Peru's oil and natural gas industry, Martinez told reporters at the Presidential Palace in Lima after meeting with Peru's President Alan Garcia.

"We're studying whether to buy Petro-Tech," Martinez said. "Ecopetrol aims to invest in the long term despite the financial crisis."

Ecopetrol plans to spend $60 billion by 2015 to meet its goal of pumping 1 million barrels a day, up from this year's 650,000 barrels, and to more than double its refining capacity. Of $6.2 billion in planned spending for next year, including $1 billion for exploration, $2.72 billion for boosting output and $870 million for acquisitions, the company's president, Javier Gutierrez, said Dec. 18.

Petro-Tech, a unit of Houston-based Offshore International Group, produces 11,000 barrels per day of crude and 15.6 million cubic feet of gas. Argentina's Pluspetrol SA and Rio De Janeiro- based Petroleo Brasileiro SA are the largest oil producers in Peru.

Publication: Andina - English Newswire
Provider: Andina
January 27, 2009