Colombian state energy company Ecopetrol is selling more of its oil production to Europe, replacing Russian supplies, while it sees growing competition for market share in Asia.

About 40-50% of Ecopetrol’s crude production is exported to Asia this year compared with 60% last year, Ecopetrol’s Chief Executive Officer Felipe Bayon told Reuters on the sidelines of APPEC 2022.

Bayon said there is growing competition with Russian, Mexican, Canadian Heavy and Venezuelan crude in Asia.

Ecopetrol established an office in Singapore earlier this year. The team of four will mainly focus on trading Colombia’s heavy sour Castilla Blend crude and look into hydrogen, renewables, carbon capture and storage.

Bayon said the proven hydrocarbon reserves at Ecopetrol have reached an equivalent of eight years’ worth of consumption, higher than about 7.5 years in the previous year.

“We are drilling 600 new oil wells this year … oil production is going up and we want to ensure that it continues to grow,” Bayon said. Source: Reuters (Reporting by Muyu Xu; Writing by Florence Tan; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)