Ecopetrol S.A. announces that its U.S. affiliate Ecopetrol America Inc. has made significant advancements in the exploration of the Norphlet Play throughout its partnership with Shell and Nexen Petroleum Offshore U.S.A Inc.

Shell, as operator in the partnership, announced that the Rydberg well was successful. This well is located 75 miles (120 kilometers) offshore in the Mississippi Canyon Block 525 in 7,479 feet (2,280 meters) of water. The well was drilled to a total depth of 26,371 feet (8,038 meters) and encountered approximately 400 feet (122 meters) of net oil pay.

This is the first discovery for the partnership of Shell Offshore Inc. (operator, 57.2%), Ecopetrol America Inc. (28.5%) and Nexen Petroleum Offshore U.S.A. Inc. (14.3%), a wholly-owned affiliate of CNOOC Limited.

About Ecopetrol

Ecopetrol (BVC: ECOPETROL; NYSE: EC; TSX: ECP) is Colombia?s largest integrated oil & gas company, where it accounts for 60% of total production. It is one of the top 50 oil companies in the world and the fourth largest oil company in Latin America. The Company is also involved in exploration and production activities in Brazil, Peru and the United States Gulf Coast, and owns the main refineries in Colombia, most of the network of oil and multiple purpose pipelines in the country, petrochemical plants, and is entering into the biofuels business.