Ecopetrol's board of directors has approved an investment plan for 2011 of $6.738 billion, the Colombian state-led oil company said Tuesday.
A contingent budget of $1.807 billion for projects still in development will be presented to Ecopetrol's board of directors for approval over the year, the company said in a statement.
Of the possible $8.545 billion total for 2011, $1.512 billion is slated for "intercompany" contributions and loans to Ecopetrol's subsidiaries and affiliates, and does not include funds for possible acquisitions, it said.
Ecopetrol said 95% of the spending will be in Colombia and the remaining 5% is for exploration and production projects along the US Gulf Coast, Brazil and Peru.
Ecopetrol plans spend $1.293 billion in 2011 to drill 40 exploratory wells, with 28 of them in Colombia, primarily in Llanos Orientales, and the rest along the USGC, Brazil and Peru, the company said.
Ecopetrol plans to continue work in all of its blocks in Colombia, including 10 recently granted by the National Hydrocarbon Agency, it said. The company also plans to explore the development of non-conventional resources, such as shale gas, it said.
Another $3.848 billion in spending is planned for continued crude and gas production, expected to rise 24% from 2010 levels to 697,000 b/d of oil equivalent in 2011, Ecopetrol said.
Most of the spending will be for projects in the Llanos Orientales, especially heavy crude development at the Castilla, Chichimene and Rubiales fields, the company said.
Ecopetrol has estimated $1.283 billion spending in its refining and petrochemicals segment, most into its "industrial services project," the planned modernization of its Barrancabermeja refinery, and the expansion and modernization of its Cartagena refinery.
Ecopetrol plans to spend $1.729 billion in 2011 in its transportation sector, "augmenting crude evacuation capacity" by 450,000 b/d and diluting naphtha to 90,000 b/d from 45,000 b/d. Both of these projects will enable Ecopetrol to boost its production of heavy crude, it said.
In addition, Ecopetrol plans to improve infrastructure at its Covenas port to increase the movement of VLCCs into it.
A contingent budget of $1.807 billion for projects still in development will be presented to Ecopetrol's board of directors for approval over the year, the company said in a statement.
Of the possible $8.545 billion total for 2011, $1.512 billion is slated for "intercompany" contributions and loans to Ecopetrol's subsidiaries and affiliates, and does not include funds for possible acquisitions, it said.
Ecopetrol said 95% of the spending will be in Colombia and the remaining 5% is for exploration and production projects along the US Gulf Coast, Brazil and Peru.
Ecopetrol plans spend $1.293 billion in 2011 to drill 40 exploratory wells, with 28 of them in Colombia, primarily in Llanos Orientales, and the rest along the USGC, Brazil and Peru, the company said.
Ecopetrol plans to continue work in all of its blocks in Colombia, including 10 recently granted by the National Hydrocarbon Agency, it said. The company also plans to explore the development of non-conventional resources, such as shale gas, it said.
Another $3.848 billion in spending is planned for continued crude and gas production, expected to rise 24% from 2010 levels to 697,000 b/d of oil equivalent in 2011, Ecopetrol said.
Most of the spending will be for projects in the Llanos Orientales, especially heavy crude development at the Castilla, Chichimene and Rubiales fields, the company said.
Ecopetrol has estimated $1.283 billion spending in its refining and petrochemicals segment, most into its "industrial services project," the planned modernization of its Barrancabermeja refinery, and the expansion and modernization of its Cartagena refinery.
Ecopetrol plans to spend $1.729 billion in 2011 in its transportation sector, "augmenting crude evacuation capacity" by 450,000 b/d and diluting naphtha to 90,000 b/d from 45,000 b/d. Both of these projects will enable Ecopetrol to boost its production of heavy crude, it said.
In addition, Ecopetrol plans to improve infrastructure at its Covenas port to increase the movement of VLCCs into it.
