Ecopetrol SA (EC) News

News: $EC Ecopetrol Adopts Measures to Guarantee the Adequate Representation of Shareholders at the 2019 Extraordinary General Shareholders' Meeting

BOGOTA, Colombia , Nov. 28, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- In accordance to Colombian Corporate Law and Securities Regulations concerning illegal, unauthorized and unsafe practices by the issuers of securities, the Board of Directors of Ecopetrol S.A. (BVC: ECOPETROL; NYSE: EC) ("Ecopetrol" or...

In case you are interested EC - Ecopetrol Adopts Measures to Guarantee the Adequate Representation of Shareholders at the 2019 Extraordinary General Shareholders' Meeting

News: $EC Distribution of Occasional Reserve to be submitted for consideration of the General Shareholders' Meeting of Ecopetrol S.A.

BOGOTA, Colombia , Nov. 28, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- In connection with the convening of an Extraordinary Shareholders' Meeting of Ecopetrol S.A.'S shareholders, requested by the majority shareholder (the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit of Colombia ), for the purpose of (i) submit...

In case you are interested EC - Distribution of Occasional Reserve to be submitted for consideration of the General Shareholders' Meeting of Ecopetrol S.A.

News: $EC Extraordinary General Shareholders' Meeting of Ecopetrol S.A.

BOGOTA, Colombia , Nov. 28, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The Chief Executive Officer of Ecopetrol S.A. invites the Shareholders of the Company  to attend the Extraordinary General Shareholders' Meeting to be held on Monday, December 16, 2019 , starting at 7:30 a.m. , at the Auditorium of t...

Got this from EC - Extraordinary General Shareholders' Meeting of Ecopetrol S.A.

News: $EC Fitch Ratings Revises Ecopetrol S.A.´s Outlook in Line with the Action Taken on the Colombia´s Sovereign Rating Outlook

Fitch Ratings Revises Ecopetrol S.A.´s Outlook in Line with the Action Taken on the Colombia´s Sovereign Rating Outlook Canada NewsWire BOGOTA, Colombia, May 27, 2019 BOGOTA, Colombia , May 27, 2019 /CNW/ -- Ecopetrol (BVC: ECOPETROL, NYSE: EC) reports that, Fit...

In case you are interested https://marketwirenews.com/news-releases/fitch-ratings-revises-ecopetrol-s-a-xb4-s-outlook-in-line-with-the-action-taken-on-the-colombia-xb4-s-sovereign-rating-outlook-8251334.html

The chart looks it's ready to tumble
https://finviz.com/quote.ashx?t=ec&ty=c&ta=1&p=d

Short it a day before ex dividend date will make you a big chuck

Price target is $13, stock is 60% above price target. The only good thing is the dividend

Insider ownership is 0%, institutional ownership is 2.28%. Great stock to short

Ecopetrol +6% after strong Q1

The company reported Q1 net income of COP886B, well more than double that of a year ago. EBITDA of COP5.81T topped estimates for COP4.76T.

At work, of course, were higher oil and gas prices even as oil output slipped 3.3% thanks to attacks on fields. There was also the Cano Limon pipeline, which was out of operation for 47 days during Q1. Sales of COP 13.4T were shy of estimates for COP13.7T.

EC +6%

Ecopetrol, Anadarko discover gas in deepwater Caribbean

Ecopetrol (EC +1.7%) says it has discovered gas at an exploratory well it shares with Anadarko Petroleum (APC -9.3%) in the deepwater Caribbean Sea.

EC says the set of gas fields in the area opens the possibility for Colombia to develop a cluster specialized in gas production, which would allow sharing of facilities and improve efficiency.

Ecopetrol restarts Cano-Limon oil pipeline after attacks
Colombia's Ecopetrol (EC +0.6%) says it has restarted the country's second largest oil pipeline, the Cano-Limon Covenas, after a series of bomb attacks by rebels halted movement of crude for seven weeks.
The reopening of the pipeline should soon permit production to resume at the Cano Limon and Caricare fields, operated by Occidental Petroleum (OXY +0.2%), which suspended production there early last month because of the attacks.
EC said last month that attacks on the pipeline had cost Colombia 893K barrels of oil production so far this year.

Colombia's Ecopetrol says rebel attacks cut production by 893K barrels
Colombia's state oil company Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) has lost 893K barrels of oil production, more than a day's worth of total national output, this year due to rebel attacks on the Cano Limon-Covenas pipeline.
Crude oil production at the Cano Limon field, operated by Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY), has been suspended since March 6 because of escalating rebel attacks on the Cano Limon-Covenas pipeline.
The pipeline transports crude from the fields in Arauca province, near the border with Venezuela, to a port in the Caribbean Sea for export, and produces ~52K bbl/day.

Rating Action: Moody's affirms Ecopetrol's ratings and assigns Baa2 rating to its proposed notes




Global Credit Research - 23 Jun 2015







New York, June 23, 2015 -- Moody's Investors Service today affirmed Ecopetrol S.A. (Ecopetrol)'s Baa2 ratings and assigned a Baa2 rating to the company's up to USD1.5 billion in proposed notes due 2026. The proposed securities are senior unsecured and pari passu with Ecopetrol's other senior foreign currency debt, which is also rated Baa2. Proceeds from the notes issuance will be used primarily to fund capital expenditures. The rating outlook is stable.



RATINGS RATIONALE



"The rating affirmation was based on Ecopetrol's solid business strategy, now focused on expanding exploration activities to increase reserves as well as on improving production recovery and operating efficiencies across the board, which will help the company protect its credit quality through the current cycle of lower oil prices", said Nymia Almeida, a Vice president - Sr. Credit Officer at Moody's. The ratings affirmation also considered Ecopetrol's status as Colombia's leading oil and gas producer, accounting for about two-thirds of the country's production, and the size of its operations, which benefits from having valuable assets that can be relatively easily monetized. A baseline credit assessment (BCA) of baa3 underlies the company's Baa2 issuer rating, which derives one notch of uplift under Moody's joint-default analysis, based on a high level of government support and moderate default correlation.



Leverage will increase in 2015 but is manageable based on the company's declining production costs, operating efficiency programs and previously moderate financial leverage for its rating category. Moody's expects that Ecopetrol's leverage will peak during 2015 but will decline starting in 2016 as oil prices and production gradually increase and costs and expenses decline further. Moody's also expects that, during the current period of lower operating cash flows, the government take as a percentage of net income will remain below the usual 80%; the rating agency notes that the dividend payout ratio in 2014 (paid in 2015) was 70%.



Ecopetrol's capex program of USD7.9 billion in 2015, relatively stable from 2014, is focused on exploration and production in over 59% of total. Exploration capex alone should increase from USD600 million in 2015 to an average of over USD1 billion in the next three years, with the goal of sustaining replacement ratio at 100%, at least. Lower annual capex starting in 2016 will be driven by lower capex in downstream, which will decline materially from USD1.5 billion annually in the last several years to an immaterial amount after the upgrade of refinery Reficar is completed, at the end of 2015. Moody's expects Ecopetrol's daily oil and gas production, which was 755 mboed in 2014, to increase at mid-single rates annually in the next couple of years.



Ecopetrol's rating stable outlook incorporates higher financial leverage in 2015 given weaker internally generated cash flow, caused by lower oil prices, and lower production than originally planned. In addition, the company has traditionally paid a high statutory dividend, which competes with funds needed for reinvestment. However, Moody's expects that ongoing cost controls and operating efficiencies as well as lower dividend payout ratio, at least related to fiscal year 2015 and 2016, will support free cash flow. In addition, although the government's stake in Ecopetrol cannot fall below 80%, the company can still issue an additional 8.5% of equity for financing, if necessary, although not envisioned at this point by the company.



An upgrade is unlikely in the near term given Ecopetrol's weakened credit metrics. Longer term, its BCA and ratings could be upgraded if it strengthens its balance sheet and reduces financial leverage to around 1 time gross debt to EBITDA. Conversely, ratings could be pressured downwards if production growth is significantly underperforms or if the company's debt increases materially beyond expectations or if the company fails to maintain Retained Cash Flow/Net Debt above 20% on a sustainable basis beyond 2015. The ratings could also be pressured if we viewed government support as likely to weaken. Actual rating outcomes in the future would take into account sovereign rating considerations, such as country rating and ceilings or support and dependence assumptions between the company and the government of Colombia, among other factors.



The principal methodology used in these ratings was Global Integrated Oil & Gas Industry published in April 2014. Other methodologies used include the Government-Related Issuers methodology published in October 2014. Please see the Credit Policy page on www.moodys.com for a copy of these methodologies.



Ecopetrol S.A. is headquartered in Bogota, Colombia. For the twelve months ended January 31, 2015, the company generated revenues of USD38.4 billion and in March 31, 2015 it had total assets of USD52.3 billion.

16

EC clearly a buy at these prices


Oil is about as cyclical as you get; give this puppy 6 months - it'll be $65 pps by Christmas

GLTAL

EC

3.20 div payable on Apr 23, 2013

Current pps: 53.96

4-4-2013

Dividend History

Year Declaration Date Ex-Div Date Record Date Payable Date Div $ Amount

2013 N/A Apr 09, 2013 Apr 11, 2013 Apr 23, 2013 2.8091
2013 N/A Apr 09, 2013 Apr 11, 2013 Apr 23, 2013 0.3966
2013 Total: 3.2057
__________________________

2012 N/A Apr 19, 2012 Apr 23, 2012 May 03, 2012 2.9230
2012 N/A Apr 19, 2012 Apr 23, 2012 May 03, 2012 0.4140
2012 Total: 3.3370
_________________________

2011 N/A Oct 07, 2011 Oct 12, 2011 Nov 02, 2011 0.5020
2011 N/A Jul 08, 2011 Jul 12, 2011 Aug 02, 2011 0.5376
2011 N/A Apr 07, 2011 Apr 11, 2011 May 03, 2011 0.5400
2011 Total: 1.5796
_________________________

2010 N/A Nov 30, 2010 Dec 02, 2010 Dec 23, 2010 0.3043
2010 N/A Aug 10, 2010 Aug 12, 2010 Sep 03, 2010 0.3227
2010 N/A Apr 12, 2010 Apr 14, 2010 May 04, 2010 0.3074
2010 Total: 0.9344
_________________________

2009 N/A Nov 30, 2009 Dec 02, 2009 Dec 24, 2009 0.3669
2009 N/A Nov 30, 2009 Dec 02, 2009 Dec 24, 2009 0.3410
2009 N/A Aug 12, 2009 Aug 14, 2009 Sep 03, 2009 0.3598
2009 N/A Aug 12, 2009 Aug 14, 2009 Sep 03, 2009 0.3346
2009 N/A Apr 13, 2009 Apr 15, 2009 May 11, 2009 0.3340
2009 N/A Apr 13, 2009 Apr 15, 2009 May 11, 2009 0.3111
2009 Total: 2.0474
_________________________

2008 N/A Nov 28, 2008 Dec 02, 2008 Dec 30, 2008 0.2473
2008 N/A Oct 10, 2008 Oct 15, 2008 Nov 11, 2008 0.2321
2008 Total: 0.4794


http://www.dividendinvestor.com/historical.php?no=10318

Ecopetrol Announces Hydrocarbons Discovery in Colombia

- The Venus-2 well was drilled on block CPO-11, which is 100% owned by Ecopetrol.
- The well produced crude oil of 17° API with a water cut of 39%.

Press Release: Ecopetrol S.A. – Tue, Apr 2, 2013 5:52 PM EDT.. .

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/ecopetrol-announces-hydrocarbons-discovery-colombia-215200821.html



BOGOTA, Colombia, April 2, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Ecopetrol S.A. (BVC: ECOPETROL; NYSE: EC; TSX: ECP) reports that it has proven the presence of crude oil at Venus-2, an exploratory well located within the municipality of San Martin, Meta province.


The Venus-2 well is part of the CPO-11 block, governed by the Exploration and Production Agreement of December of 2008, between Ecopetrol and the National Hydrocarbons Agency. Ecopetrol holds a 100% interest in this block.

Initial tests carried out using an electro-submersible artificial lift, yielded an average crude oil production of 630 barrels of oil per day (BOD) of 17o API and a water cut of 39%. Ecopetrol plans to continue its exploratory activities on block CPO-11 in the coming weeks.

Ecopetrol continues to grow in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico (US)

Press Release: Ecopetrol S.A. – Tue, Apr 2, 2013 5:10 PM EDT.. .

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/ecopetrol-continues-grow-deepwater-gulf-211000846.html


Ecopetrol America Inc. placed bids partnering with Murphy Exploration and Production Company, Anadarko US Offshore Corporation, MCX Gulf of Mexico LLC and JX Nippon Oil Exploration (U.S.A.) Limited.

With the results from this round, Ecopetrol America Inc. could raise its share to 136 blocks in one of the most attractive areas for exploration in the world.


BOGOTA , Colombia , April 2, 2013 /CNW/ - Ecopetrol S.A. (BVC: ECOPETROL; NYSE: EC; TSX: ECP) announces that its U.S. affiliate (Ecopetrol America Inc.) placed the most competitive bids for 6 blocks in the "Central Planning Area Lease Sale 227" round held in New Orleans , as disclosed by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), the governmental authority in charge of the process in the U.S.

In this lease sale, Ecopetrol America Inc. partnered with Murphy Exploration and Production in 2 blocks; with Anadarko US Offshore Corporation, MCX Gulf of Mexico LLC and JX Nippon Oil Exploration (U.S.A) Limited in two blocks, and in two blocks Ecopetrol America has 100% interest.

The official awarding of the blocks will be conducted by BOEM in the coming months after the checking of bids and ascertaining that the companies fulfill the conditions required for the round.

The economic bids placed by Ecopetrol America and its partners in the 6 blocks add up to approximately US $15.5 million with Ecopetrol America's share consisting of approximately US $6.2 million .

These blocks allow deep water hydrocarbon exploration in water depths of over 221 meters for a 5 to 7 years period.

52 companies participated in this round of offshore blocks located in the Gulf of Mexico (US) and placed 407 bids for 320 blocks. The total area offered was 38.6 million acres.

The new blocks are added to the 47 obtained on the Gulf of Mexico (US) in previous Lease Sales. With these 6 blocks, Ecopetrol America Inc. could increase its participation in this prolific hydrocarbon basin to 136 blocks.

The results obtained strengthen Ecopetrol's position in the Gulf of Mexico , which it considers a focus area in its internationalization process.

Ecopetrol is Colombia's largest integrated oil & gas company, where it accounts for 60% of total production.

It is one of the top 40 oil companies in the world and the fourth largest oil company in Latin America.

The Company is also involved in exploration and production activities in Brazil, Peru and the United States Gulf Coast, and owns the main refineries in Colombia, most of the network of oil and multiple purpose pipelines in the country, petrochemical plants, and is entering into the biofuels business.