HOCOL was founded in 1956 to discover and produce hydrocarbons in Colombia. Today, the company has exploration and oil operations in the Upper and Middle Magdalena Valleys and Central Plains (Llanos) regions of Colombia, as well as in Lake Maracaibo, Venezuela.

HOCOL stands out from its competitors today, thanks to:

• Quick and efficient adaptation of cutting-edge E & P technologies.
• Widely-recognized, responsible, and respectful approach to social and environmental surroundings.
• Attractive corporate culture of collective creativity, teamwork, and leadership based on principles.

HOCOL has been a privately owned company since its creation in 1956. Today, the company is owned by Maurel et Prom, which acquired HOCOL from Knightsbridge Group Limited in 2005. Previous owners of HOCOL were: Nimir Pretroleum Limited,Royal Dutch/Shell, Tennessee Oil & Gas, Intercol, Petrocol, Petrobras, Houston Oil and Minerals and Tenneco. HOCOL's legacy after having passed through the hands of many owners is the rich heritage that has created our unique business culture.

Among HOCOL’s technical achievements are the discovery of 850 Mmboe and the development and production of 650 Mmboe (gross), mainly in the Upper Magdalena Valley.

In 2005, HOCOL ranked 4th operator in terms of production among international oil companies operating in Colombia, after BP, Occidental and Petrobras. It holds a dominant position in the Upper Magdalena Valley (UMV) and a diverse portfolio in production and exploration ventures in the Central Llanos Basin (CL) and in the Llanos Foothills (LF) of Colombia and in the Maracaibo Basin in Venezuela.

HOCOL’s annual net production in Colombia has grown steadily from 7 MMbbls in 1996 to 7.9 MMbbls in 2005. Since 2001, when Hocol took operations in Venezuela, gross production has increased from 3.6 Mbopd up to 7.5 in 2004.

HOCOL’s partners in Colombia include Perenco, Braspetro, Sipetrol, Talisman, Cepsa, Total and Colombia’s state-owned oil company, ECOPETROL. In Venezuela, in addition to the state-owned oil company, PDVSA, HOCOL has partnered with Ehcopek and Cartera de Inversiones.

In recent years HOCOL has become one of the most active exploration companies in Colombia and holds one of the largest exploration portfolios in terms of acreage; it is currently conducting exploration activities in over 20.000 Km2 between operated and non- operated contracts. Its portfolio includes the Tángara and Mundo Nuevo blocks, situated on the same trend as the BP-operated giant Cusiana and Cupiagua fields.




HOCOL Exploration Contracts 2006

The company is the largest private shareholder in two of the main pipelines in Colombia: the Alto Magdalena pipeline (OAM), 397 km, and the Colombia pipeline (ODC), 480 km.

During the last 5 years economic reports published by Semana and Dinero Magazines has ranked HOCOL Colombia in the top position in EBITDA, ROA and other indicators among its Oil & Gas peers such as ECOPETROL, Chevron-Texaco, BP Exploration, and ExxonMobil.

HOCOL has received international recognition from organizations such as the Energy Institute (formerly the Institute of Petroleum – IP) and Harvard Business School’s Social Enterprise Knowledge Network, for its models for community work and social investment in the areas where the Company operates.

Upper Magadalena