Ecopetrol Gets Invite To Explore In India

Ecopetrol EC, Colombia's state-run oil producer, has been invited India's Reliance Industries and Oil & Natural Gas Corp. to jointly develop new exploration blocks in the home of Asia's third-largest economy. The two Indian companies already do business with Ecopetrol, Colombia's largest company by market value, in the South American country. India is offering 34 oil and gas exploration blocks in its ninth round of auctions as it steps up efforts to boost output to help meet demand in Asia's second-fastest growing major economy, according to Bloomberg News. Ecopetrol currently has no exposure to India. The company primarily operates in Colombia, Brazil, Peru and the U.S. section of the Gulf of Mexico.