Os planos da Ecopetrol para a Brava e para o Brasil

Ecopetrol plans to use Brazil as its main international growth platform following its acquisition of Brava Energía. The Colombian state-owned company already has experience in the Brazilian market, with investments in Orca project operated by Shell, eleven exploratory blocks in Santos Basin and involvement in energy transmission through ISA.

Ecopetrol's CEO, Jorge Andrés Martínez, said the company has been investing, learning and building relationships in the market for nearly two decades, and that the scale of their ambition is changing now. Brava, the second largest junior national oil company, was formed by the merger of 3R Petroleum, created to buy Petrobras assets, and Enauta, the former Queiroz Galvão E&P.

The company produced 82,000 barrels of oil equivalent daily in the last quarter and holds proven reserves of 459 million boed. Brava's new owner extracted a total of 745,000 boe/day in the first quarter, mainly in Colombia, but also in operations spread across the Americas, including the US. The acquisition was concluded with a public offering of 25% of Brava's shares at R$ 23 each, with Ecopetrol spending a total of R$ 2.67 billion.

This was a condition for the closing of the private deal announced earlier, which involved the purchase of additional 26% of Brava held by Jive, Yellowstone and the Somah Printemps Quantum shareholder bloc, for R$ 2.77 billion. Ecopetrol's expansion plans include the pre-salt Orca project in Brazil's Santos Basin, which is expected to be operational in 2029 and produce 120,000 barrels per day.

Ecopetrol has allocated 67% of its organic investments in Colombia and 24% in Brazil, with the US and other geographies accounting for 9%. While Ecopetrol will continue to have its main market and greatest responsibility in Colombia, the company aims to build growth platforms beyond its borders.