October 06, 2008

T&K Assists Ecopetrol in Acquisition of Producing Assets in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico

Attorneys Guide Colombian National Oil Company with Strategic Acquisition

Texas - The global law firm of Thompson & Knight LLP continues to assist Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC), the Colombian national oil company, with its internationalization and strategic growth plan by assisting with the recent acquisition of the company's first oil and gas producing assets in the United States.

The Firm served as outside counsel to Ecopetrol America Inc., a subsidiary of Ecopetrol S.A., in its $510 million acquisition of a 9.2% interest in the K2 field, a deepwater oil and gas field located south of New Orleans in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, from Union Oil Company of California, a subsidiary of Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX).

Mauricio Echeverry, General Counsel for Ecopetrol, and Rodolfo Garcia Paredes, Team Leader for Ecopetrol, coordinated all legal matters in connection with the transaction. Pablo C. Ferrante led the Thompson & Knight team of attorneys which included Ben H. Welmaker, Jr., Becky L. Jolin, Patricia H. Chicoine, Sarah E. McLean, Matthew J. Knifton, Susan Marx, David M. Wildes, Lakesha D. Harris, and Ivan Perez. The transaction closed on September 29, 2008.

With this transaction, Ecopetrol made its first acquisition of producing assets outside Colombia. This transaction is part of Ecopetrol's internationalization plan included in its 2015 strategy. Ecopetrol is an integrated oil and gas company ranked among the world's 40 largest oil and gas companies. It is also the largest corporation in Colombia and the principal oil and gas company in that country.

Contact

Becky S. Jackson
Becky.Jackson@tklaw.com
214.969.1478