GeoPark Buys Colombian Oil Producer

GeoPark, a company with oil and gas exploration and production assets in Latin America, has paid $75m in cash to acquire Hupecol Cuerva, an oil company that operates two oil blocks in Colombia. The purchase will give the Bermuda-incorported GeoPark full control over the Llanos 62 and the La Cuerva blocks. La Cuerva currently produces roughly 2,000 barrels of oil a day and has proven and probable reserves, or 2P reserves, of 8m barrels of oil, while the Llanos 62 block is still undergoing exploration. Last year, Hupecol posted $68m in revenues with an Ebitda of $30m. Officials at GeoPark decline to go into the company’s own valuation estimates of Hupecol, and note that no financial advisors were involved in the transaction. On the legal front, GeoPark was advised by NY firm Chadbourne & Parke and Colombian lawyers Suarez Zapata Partners. PWC advised on tax-related due diligence in the deal. The purchase makes give the privately-owned GeoPark a holder of assets in Colombia, Chile and Argentina with a combined oil and gas production of 9,500 barrels of oil equivalent per day.