After five years in office, Felipe Bayón left the presidency of Ecopetrol. And as an inheritance he left the Government of Gustavo Petro, the best results in history, with a net profit of $33.4 billion, doubling that of 2021, and an ebitda of $75.2 billion with a margin of 47%.
This performance, according to the oil company, was leveraged by the favorable price environment; the largest contribution to production from Permian and Ecopetrol SA, and record results at the refineries and solid results from ISA.
The foregoing allowed offsetting adverse factors such as inflation and the exchange effect on costs and expenses of the operation; higher debt interest, higher level of exploratory expenses and increase in the nominal income tax rate for 2022.
Best results
“During 2022, the Ecopetrol Group continued to deliver historical operating and financial results that were higher than the goals set at the beginning of the year. This, accompanied by environmental, social and governance management in accordance with the best industry standards and in line with our commitment to generate sustainable value for society and our shareholders”Bayón expressed when communicating his results to the Board.
And he added that his contribution to the country was outstanding: “in 2022 we delivered $42.4 billion to the Nation, through dividends, royalties and taxes, compared to $16.8 billion in 2021. Likewise, the oil company delivered $2, 1 billion to our minority shareholders”.
reserves
On the other hand, on February 24, Ecopetrol announced its proven reserves of oil, condensates and natural gas (1P reserves), including its participation in affiliates and subsidiaries at the end of its operation in 2022.
These highlight that on December 31 of last year the net proven reserves of the oil company and its affiliated companies were 2,011 million barrels, with a reserve replacement rate of 104% and with an average life of 8.4 years. .
The company also reported that it incorporated 249 million barrels of proven reserves and total cumulative production for the year was 240 million barrels. Of the total balance of reserves, 75% are liquid and 25% correspond to natural gas.
In total, the Group pointed out, 215 management reserves were incorporated in the development fields reflected in the optimal and timely maturation of new projects, better execution capacity and implementation of improved recovery expansion projects in fields such as Chichimene, Castilla and Akacias. , among others.
During his tenure, since September 2017, the company achieved excellent operating and financial results. And one of Bayón’s greatest achievements was transforming the company into a diversified energy group, which has become a benchmark for its commitment to clean energy.
During his administration, relevant offshore gas discoveries were made, such as Gorgon-2 and Uchuva-1, which, according to the company, “ratified the existence of a gas province in the Caribbean Sea that will be essential to preserve energy sovereignty in the future.” of the country and the expansion of the capacity of the Cartagena Refinery was completed to meet the growing demand for refined products”.
Similarly, Bayón led a comprehensive program to raise the quality of fuels to international standards. As well as the acquisition of 51.4% of the shares of ISA, “one of the most important transactions in the Western Hemisphere in 2021, with already visible results in decarbonization and electrification.”
In his farewell to the partners last Friday, Bayón shared his 2022 management report and assured that the Trif (Frequency of recordable incidents) was the lowest in history for the state oil company. “We went from having 2.9% in 2012 to 0.33% in 2022. It is important to maintain this trend from now on. Ecopetrol is a company that cares for life, this is the result that we are most proud of,” he assured.
Regarding the company’s profits, Bayón highlighted that they were double the previous year, that is, they went from $16.7 trillion in 2021 to $33.4 trillion in 2022.
“Partially, the price helps a lot, between one year and the next the price rose by 38%, but the utility rose 100%, this means that there are a large number of factors that allow this to be the utility”, he pointed.
Something that also made the shareholders happy was the recovery that the company had, which returned to pre-pandemic figures, according to Bayona himself. “We closed 2022 with 709,000 barrels and the goal for this year is between 720,000 and 725,000 barrels,” he said.
The oil company helmsman also highlighted that the Permian operation left more than US$300,000 in profits.
And for when the successor?
The president of the Board of Directors of Ecopetrol, Saúl Kattan, announced that there are around 10 people shortlisted for the presidency of the oil company and assured that, in the coming weeks, the company would announce the final candidate who would preside over the company’s management .
“This list has been dwindling; Right now we have close to 10 finalists that we will continue evaluating and interviewing so that in the coming weeks we can elect the one we consider to be the best candidate to the Board of Directors.” Kattan expressed.
Additionally, the Colombian businessman stated that the appointment of the new president of Ecopetrol is not the responsibility of the Government or the members of the company. The designation of who is in the hands of an international headhunting firm.
Kattan hopes that in the next few days at least three or four candidates will be brought before the Board of Directors for a decision. “There are people of different profiles, internal, external, who live in Colombia or abroad, and both men and women,” said the president of the Ecopetrol Board of Directors in relation to the question of who could be the new leader of the largest oil company. important in the country.
One of the most popular and is President Petro’s favorite is Ricardo Roa Barragán. Roa is a Mechanical Engineer from the National University of Colombia, has 28 years of experience in the energy sector and has also led international industries such as Empresa Energía Honduras, Transportadora de Gas Internacional, La Luna Thermoelectric Power Plant and Renewable Energy Company. .
However, the election of the new president is under the responsibility of Mauricio Cabrera, Gustavo Cano, Mónica de Greiff, Gonzalo Hernández, Saul Kattan, Sandra Ospina, Santiago Perdomo, Esteban Piedrahita and Sergio Restrepo, who make up the Ecopetrol Board of Directors.