Ecopetrol Picks Pipe Partners

Ecopetrol has picked equity partners to join a consortium to build the $4.2bn Oleoducto Bicentenario oil pipeline, it says. Ecopetrol will contribute 55% of the equity portion of the project, with the remaining 45% ($139.5m) equity participation coming from the partners. Pacific Rubiales (32.9%) and Petrominerales (9.7%) are taking the largest positions. Hocol, Rancho Hermoso-Canacol, Grupo C&C and Vetra each took stakes of less than 1%. The partners should also contribute $700m to fund construction of the project’s first phase, Ecopetrol says. The project will also require an undetermined debt component, of which Ecopetrol has said it would seek a portion in Colombia’s domestic markets.