Colombia Hydrocarbon Auction Beats Expectations

Bidding on a Colombian oil and gas concession surpassed the expectations of Colombia’s national hydrocarbon agency, ANH. Of the 228 onshore and offshore hydrocarbon exploration blocks available, about 80 were awarded. That translates into about $1bn in investments, according to ANH. ANH director Armando Zamora told LatinFinance previous to the auction that he expected about 40-50 of the blocks to be awarded, drawing investments of around $200m-$500m. State-owned oil company Ecopetrol walked away with 9 blocks out of the 10 it bid on. The company says it will invest $102m on the blocks over the next 3 years. Medellin-based brokerage Bolsa y Renta says the investment will not have a material impact on Ecopetrol’s balance sheet. Pacific Rubiales, via subsidiary Meta Petroleum, won 6 and expects to invest $99m in the next 3 years. The investment will be financed through cashflow, the company says.