What Ecopetrol (EC) Said on Its Q3 Earnings Call

Key Points

• Third-quarter net income jumped 86% to COP 4.8 trillion, while revenue rose to COP 35.1 trillion and EBITDA reached COP 15.9 trillion. Record refining margins and higher commodity prices offset declines from mature fields.
• Refining margin hit a record $45.60 per barrel, up 53% from the prior quarter. Brava added 39,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day after joining the group in September.
• Ecopetrol refinanced the Brava acquisition loan with a $2 billion bond due in 2034, saying the deal would not increase overall debt. The company is also prioritizing reserve growth and gas projects while applying strict return requirements to investments.

Ecopetrol NYSE: EC reported an 86% increase in third-quarter net income as record refining margins and higher commodity prices helped offset declining production from mature fields. The results included one month of contributions from newly acquired Brazilian subsidiary Brava.

Net income rose to COP 4.8 trillion from COP 2.6 trillion a year earlier, while revenue increased by COP 5.2 trillion to COP 35.1 trillion, the company said on its third-quarter 2026 earnings call. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, or EBITDA, climbed to COP 15.9 trillion, with the margin expanding by 4 percentage points to 45%.

CEO Joaquín Gutiérrez, leading his first earnings call under the company’s new administration, said Ecopetrol would prioritize reserve additions, gas supply, offshore development, investor confidence and operational efficiency. He acknowledged that production from mature fields was declining and would require exploration and sustained investment to support volumes.

Refining Drives Results as Brava Joins the Group

Ecopetrol’s integrated gross refining margin reached a record $45.60 per barrel in the quarter, up 53% from the preceding quarter and more than three times the year-earlier level, according to Elsa Jaimes, acting executive vice president of hydrocarbons. Refining EBITDA was COP 4.1 trillion, despite maintenance at the Barrancabermeja refinery that reduced throughput.

Chief Financial Officer Camilo Barco said the pricing environment was the main driver of the group’s financial performance. For the first nine months of 2026, average Brent prices rose 27%, while Ecopetrol’s product basket increased 45%. Year-to-date net income rose 83% to COP 13.7 trillion.

Consolidated third-quarter production was 747,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day. Excluding Brava’s 49% noncontrolling interest, production was approximately 728,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day. Jaimes said Brava added 39,000 barrels per day to the group’s production during the quarter.

Brava’s September consolidation contributed approximately 3% of group revenue, 4% of EBITDA and 2% of net income growth, Gutiérrez said. The company’s integration work will include harmonizing reserves under U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission standards, strengthening controls and seeking operational and exploration synergies.

Barco said Ecopetrol also sees opportunities to improve Brava’s financing costs and capital structure while balancing investment, debt obligations and returns for shareholders.

Debt Refinancing and Receivables

Ecopetrol ended September with COP 16.3 trillion in cash, including COP 3.1 trillion from Brava. Group gross debt-to-EBITDA stood at 2.1 times, below the company’s stated ceiling of 2.5 times, Barco said.

The company completed a $2 billion bond offering due in 2034 to refinance the short-term loan used for the Brava acquisition and prepay $810 million of bonds due in 2029. Barco said the transaction would not increase overall indebtedness and would reduce refinancing needs over the next several years.

Receivables from Colombia’s Fuel Price Stabilization Fund stood at COP 11.4 trillion at the end of September, including COP 1.6 trillion remaining from 2025. Gutiérrez said the government’s inclusion of fund-related appropriations in its 2027 budget and recent payments for the third and fourth quarters of 2025 improved visibility for liquidity planning. Barco said accelerating collections and limiting further accumulation remained priorities.

Gas Projects and Production Plans

Ecopetrol decided not to proceed with liquefied natural gas purchases for the Puerto Bahía and Buenaventura terminals under prevailing market conditions, which did not meet its competitiveness, profitability and risk-management criteria, said Armando Cuello, executive vice president of energies for the transition. The company continues to seek competitive supplies while maintaining commitments under domestic sales contracts, he said.

Cuello said the Pacific regasification facility was approximately 90% complete and expected to begin operating by the end of 2026. The Caribbean facility was 53% complete and expected to start in the first quarter of 2027.

For the offshore Sirius gas project, Jaimes said the company remained on track to submit environmental impact assessments for field development and the subsea flow line in the first quarter of 2027. Gutiérrez said prior consultations and environmental licenses were on the project’s critical path, and that Ecopetrol hoped to reach a final investment decision soon.

Gutiérrez also said Ecopetrol was negotiating with Venezuela’s PDVSA to operate the 88-kilometer Colombian section of the Antonio Ricaurte gas pipeline. The company has requested a license from the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control for the proposed operation, he said.

Capital Discipline and Unconventional Resources

Gutiérrez said Colombia would remain the company’s priority, though international assets could compete for capital if they met return requirements. Projects must generate returns above the cost of capital with a margin appropriate to their risk and withstand low-price scenarios, he said. The company plans to present its 2027 investment plan after board approval, followed by an updated strategy with measurable financial and operational goals.

Asked about unconventional resources in Colombia, Jaimes said Ecopetrol was updating its assessment of prospective areas and preparing business cases. It was too early to provide estimates for capital spending or production, she said. Separately, Mauricio Gutiérrez, vice president of strategy and business development, said the company continuously reviews its portfolio and would consider non-strategic assets as part of its planning.

About Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC)

Ecopetrol S.A. is an integrated energy company headquartered in Bogotá, Colombia. Founded in 1951, it is majority-owned by the Colombian government and is one of the country's major producers of oil and natural gas. The company explores for and produces hydrocarbons, transports them through pipeline networks, and refines crude oil into products such as gasoline, diesel and jet fuel. Its operations also include petrochemicals and natural gas activities, with refining facilities in Colombia. Ecopetrol's business is centered in Colombia, with additional oil and gas activities in other countries.

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