Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC) Q4 2023 Earnings Call Transcript
Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC) Q4 2023 Earnings Call Transcript March 1, 2024
Ecopetrol S.A. isn’t one of the 30 most popular stocks among hedge funds at the end of the third quarter (see the details here).
Operator: Good morning. My name is Natalia, and I will be your operator today. Welcome to Ecopetrol's Earnings Conference Call, in which we will discuss the main financial and operational results for the fourth quarter and year-end 2023. There will be a questions-and-answer session at the end of the presentation. Before we begin, it is important to mention that the comments in this call by Ecopetrol's senior management include projections of the company's future performance. These projections do not constitute any commitment as to future results, nor do they take into account risks or uncertainties that could materialize. As a result, Ecopetrol assumes no responsibility in the event that future results are different from the projections shared on this conference call.
The call will be led by Mr. Ricardo Roa, CEO of Ecopetrol; Alberto Consuegra, COO; David Riano, Vice President of Low Emission Solutions; and Milena Lopez, CFO. Thank you for your attention. Mr. Roa, you may begin your conference.
Ricardo Roa: Good morning, everyone. With regards to the 2023 results call, a year of significant achievements [Technical Difficulty] by goals and progress in energy transition projects. We will have marked numerous operational records and value generation, overcoming a more challenging market environment. In 2023, we strengthened the traditional hydrocarbon business across all its segments. In 2023, we are strengthened the traditional hydrocarbon business, across all its sectors. We closed the year with a production of 757,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, a figure not seen in eight years supported by our fields in Colombia and the Permian subsidiary contributing 9% to the total produce. We transport 1,130,000 barrels per day with 306,000 barrels per day through pipelines, the highest in the group's history.
In refining, we achieved an unprecedented financial performance with over [COP73.3 trillion] (ph) in EBITDA, the highest refining load in history of 120 barrels per day, [Technical Difficulty] continues to supply and operation of the Cartagena refinery plant interconnection, IPCC. We achieved an exploratory [Technical Difficulty] 50% above industry standard, highlighting milestone like Glaucus-1 announced earlier and Orca Norte-1, the first deepwater well 100% drilled by Ecopetrol which confirm the presence of two gas accumulations in reservoirs different from the Orca-1 discovery. This expands our offshore gas potential, referring our commitment to the countries and energy security. In the commercial front in October 2023, we announced the opening of the trading office in Houston to be closer to global markets and attain better results.
This is ongoing effort to diversify customers and markets who currently sell more than 50% of our crude oil stores to the Asian market. In Transmission, Roads and Telecommunications segment, secured contracts in 2023, representing investment of COP10 trillion for the coming years. Let's move to the next slide. We made significant progress in the commitment to decarbonization and to consolidate energy transition projects, achieving a cumulative reduction of green house gas emission up nearly 1.5 million tons of CO2 equivalent by the end of the year, aligning with the path to net zero emission [Technical Difficulty] of this emission relate to methane where Ecopetrol standard its emission to achieve zero methane emission initiative of the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative.
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