The oil reactivation of the country, after the pandemic, is beginning to give revenue to the numbers of the Ecopetrol Group.
And it is that his task in 2021 was so positive, that at the end of the year he reported a profit of $16.7 billionthe highest in the entire history of the oil company, even though the country’s hydrocarbon production is not going through its best moment.
(Announcement of an investment of $3.1 billion for the Barrancabermeja refinery).
It is even striking that the level of profits obtained by Ecopetrol last year, stands out when compared to 2011 ($15.4 billion) when the price of the reference Brent barrel exceeded US$110, and if one takes into account that in all of 2021 the price did not exceed US$80.
“We seek the competitiveness and sustainability of the business in the long term and during 2021 we made decisive progress by consolidating ourselves as one of the leading energy and infrastructure groups in Latin America”, said Felipe Bayón, president of the group.
Likewise, the Ecopetrol Group closed the year with a consolidated revenue of $91.7 billion which represents an increase of 83.4% compared to 2020, in addition to an Ebitda of $42 billion (Ebitda margin of 46%).
“These are record indicators in its history, offering a return on average capital employed (Roace) of 13.6%”, said Bayón.
The result of the fourth quarter was also exceptional, since the consolidated income amounted to COP 31.8 billion, net income to $6.1 billionand Ebitda to $14 billion with an Ebitda margin of 44%.
(The outlook for Ecopetrol’s share issuance after investment plan).
OPERATIONAL BALANCE
In the exploration segment, Ecopetrol drilled together with its partners 13 wells during 2021, exceeding the established goal of nine wells.
“The annual production of the exploratory assets was made up of 65% oil and 35% gas. At the national level, in the 2021 Colombia Round, the company obtained three blocks in the Valle Medio del Magdalena basin, one in the Llanos Orientales basin and, through Hocol, one in the Sinú San Jacinto basin.”, explained the president of the oil company.
For its part, in production, the national oil company reached a production of 679,000 average barrels per day (bpd) showing a recovery trend at the end of the year with a production in the quarter of 695,000 bpd.
Thus, within Ecopetrol’s total production, the share of crude oil rose to 79%, favored by the successful campaign in the Permian Basin (USA), where they achieved a total of 132 wells drilled and a peak production level of operation reached 50,000 boe.
“During 2021, the production of natural gas and LPG represented 21% of the Group’s total production, driven by the additional supply of the year, reaching a combined Ebitda margin of 53%Bayon said.
It should be remembered that Ecopetrol’s reserve balance at the close of the operation last year was 2,002,000 barrels of oilreflecting an increase of 13% compared to 2020.
(Lea: Oil: more than 50% will grow exploration by adding new wells).
Thus, in 2021, for each barrel produced, two barrels of reserves were incorporated, reaching an index of 200% reserve replenishmentthe highest in the last 12 years.
Furthermore, the increase in the half-life of the reserves grew to 8.7 yearsand natural gas represented 28% of the total balance of the remnants with an average life of 10.4 years.
As for the transportation and refining businesses, in the former the volumes that were channeled during the year reached 1,007,000 barrels per day (bd), with a 20% increase in multi-purpose pipelines.
And in the second, 2021 closed with a consolidated load of 354,000 bpd and an annual integrated gross margin of US$10.2/barrel, and a record in the fourth quarter of US$12.5/barrel.
“The excellent results of the year, which made it possible to achieve an all-time record Ebitda for this last segment, were leveraged by the operational stability of the refineries, the recovery of the demand for liquid fuels and of the margins, historical results in Esenttia and the stability of the operating costs in all businesses”, said the president of Ecopetrol.
And on the commercial front, the improvement in the realization price of the oil company’s crude oil basket stands out, which went from US$34/barrel in 2020 to US$67/barrel in 2021, thanks to the commercial strategy of diversification of export destinations and close relationship with customers.
“To highlight, the Asian market is the main destination of our crude oil exports, participating with 57% of them,” said Bayón.
ISA’S CONTRIBUTION
Regarding ISA’s contribution to the numbers of the Ecopetrol Group, the results of the power transmission and road business only refer to the month of September and the fourth quarter, with $3.1 billion in revenues and 16% of Ebitda.
In the fourth quarter, the award of the 1,415-kilometre (km) high-voltage transmission project with direct current with a capacity of 3,000 megawatts (MW) at 600 kilovolts (kV) in Chile that will connect the north of the country with the metropolitan area, and in Brazil the granting of the first large-scale energy storage project.
And in the road business, the completion of the construction stage and commissioning of 100% of the Cartagena-Barranquilla 4G project stands out.
DIVIDEND PAYMENT
As a result of the financial results of Ecopetrol in 2021, the Board of Directors of the oil company will propose a dividend of $243 per share and an extraordinary dividend of $37 per share, which represents a total payment per share of $280, at the General Assembly of Shareholders. which is 16 times more than what was paid in 2020, which was $17. Likewise, the constitution of a reserve for $8,889,900,168,629 “destined to provide support to the financial sustainability of the Company will be proposed.
ALFONSO LOPEZ