BOGOTÁ, Colombia, July 26, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Ecopetrol S.A. (BVC: ECOPETROL; NYSE: EC) reports that the risk rating agency Fitch Ratings maintained the rating of the Company at investment grade, with a rating of BBB.
Given the Company's strategic link to the Republic of Colombia, Fitch Ratings downgraded the Company's outlook from stable to negative, in line with its updated outlook for the Republic of Colombia (BBB, outlook negative), which was published on July 22, 2016.
Furthermore, as a result of the revised methodology that Fitch Ratings applies to all of the countries that it covers, which for the Republic of Colombia resulted in the equivalence of the country's external and internal ratings, the international rating in local currency for Ecopetrol S.A. was equal to the rating in foreign currency, with both remaining at BBB.
Ecopetrol is the largest company in Colombia and is an integrated oil & gas company; it is among the top 50 oil companies in the world and among the four top ones in Latin America. Besides Colombia - where it generates over 60% of the national production - it has exploration and production activities in Brazil, Peru & the US (Gulf of Mexico). Ecopetrol owns the largest refinery in Colombia and most of the pipeline and multi-product pipeline network in the country, and is significantly increasing its participation in bio-fuels.
This release contains statements concerning business prospects, estimates of operating and financial results and assertions concerning Ecopetrol's growth prospects. These are all forward-looking statements, and as such, they are solely based on management expectations with regard to the company's future and its ongoing access to capital to fund the Company's business plan. The fulfillment of such estimates in the future depends on market conditions, regulations, competition, and the performance of Colombia's economy and industry, among other factors; therefore they are subject to change without prior notice.
Manager of Corporate Finance and Investor Relations (E)
Lina María Contreras Mora
Phone: +571-234-5190
e-mail: investors@ecopetrol.com.co
Media Relations (Colombia)
Jorge Mauricio Tellez
Phone: + 571-234-4329
e-mail: mauricio.tellez@ecopetrol.com.co
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SOURCE Ecopetrol S.A.
