Ecopetrol lays out US$2.2bn gas expansion plans

Colombian energy firm Ecopetrol will invest 8-10tn pesos (up to US$2.22bn) in near-term natural gas projects, CEO Felipe Bayón said on Wednesday. 

According to Bayón, the developments form part of a broader strategy to accelerate the state-run company's shift to clean energy.

"We hope that at least half of our [portfolio] growth will be in the area of clean energy because hydrocarbons currently represent about 80% of our business and it cannot continue like this in the future," he told reporters. 

Bayón cited the inclusion in a Standard and Poor's list of oil companies driving energy diversification – alongside Shell, BP and Repsol, among others – as a sign the company was heading in the right direction. 

"The news that S&P gave us shows us that we are doing well in our energy transition process," Bayón said. 

"The idea is that in the near future and with the help of hydrocarbons such as gas and oil, more than half of Ecopetrol's revenue will come from the renewable energy business."