* Ecopetrol to start pilot project for unconventionalreserves
* Output to remain flat or rise in 2018(Adds quotes, context, details)
By Marianna Parraga
Low crude oil prices had forced Ecopetrol and other oilcompanies in
Last year "was a very good year for us. Analysts wereexpecting a lower profit," Bayon said on the sidelines of theCERAWeek energy conference in
The company expects its oil and gas production to remainflat or to rise slightly this year to 725,000 barrels of oilequivalent per day (boepd), under an investment budget of
Part of that spending will go to projects aimed atreplenishing the firm's energy reserves, including a pilotprogram to explore unconventional resources at the MagdalenaMedio basin, where Ecopetrol estimates there could be up to 7.4billion barrels, more than triple
Ecopetrol last year was part of a team that won an offshoreblock in the Gulf of
REFINING MORE, CONSUMING MORE
Ecopetrol's main refinery - the recently expanded
The cost of
Ecopetrol is also reducing the volume of imported naphtha itneeds to dilute its heavy crude output by making changes at itstransportation system, according to Bayon.
Using alternative transport has allowed it to avoid problemsat the closed Cano Limon-Covenas pipeline, which has been thetarget of frequent rebel attacks.
Bayon also said that tighter controls by the Colombiangovernment at the Venezuelan border had cut illegal gasolineimports, increasing the domestic need for gasoline and otherfuels.
Ecopetrol's Barrancabermeja refinery, where workers recentlywent on strike due to a salary dispute, is expected to restartin seven to 10 days after completing maintenance work, he said.(Reporting by Marianna Parraga, Editing by Rosalba O'Brien)