MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Colombia and S. Korea expand into Peruvian oil industry

Colombian state oil company Ecopetrol and its South Korean counterpart, Korea National Oil Corporation, have acquired Peruvian private oil firm Petro-Tech Peruana S.A. for 900 million US dollars.

"The investment will be made in equal parts by the two companies (50% Ecopetrol and 50% KNOC)," the Colombian firm said in a press release, adding that Petro-Tech, which operates in northern Peru, is owned by the private US firm Offshore International Group Inc. The press release added that the deal to acquire a 50% stake in Petro-Tech is "one step more in Ecopetrol's internationalization process and is part of a strategy to achieve output of 1 million barrels of oil equivalent per day by 2015." Petro-Tech is involved in the exploration, production and processing of hydrocarbons in Peru; the company, which began operating in January 1994 on Peru's northern coast, currently produces close to 12,000 barrels of crude per day. It has expanded its horizons in recent years and become involved in the exploration and production of hydrocarbons off the coast of Peru. Petro-Tech owns 11 blocks in Peru (one production block and 10 exploration blocks) that cover a total of 9.5 million hectares, one of the largest offshore areas in South America. Ecopetrol and KNOC are looking to boost their investment in the coming years to increase hydrocarbon production and reserves and also are aiming for Petro-Tech to double its output over the next three years. Ecopetrol announced in December that it plans to invest 6.22 billion US dollars in production and exploration activities in 2009, 35% more than last year and triple the amount invested in 2007.