Ecopetrol S.A. Q4 FY2024 Earnings Call

Good morning. My name is Natalia, and I will be your operator today. Welcome to Ecopetrol's earnings conference call, in which we will discuss the main financial and operating results in 2024. There will be a question and answer session at the end of the presentation. Before we begin, it is important to mention that the comments in this call by Ecopetrol's senior management include projections of the company's future performance. These projections do not constitute any commitment as to future results nor do they take into account risks or uncertainties that could materialize. As a result, Ecopetrol assumes no responsibility in the event that future results are different from the projections shared on this conference call. The call will be led by Ricardo Roa, CEO; Rafael Guzman, Executive Vice President of Hydrocarbons; Camilo Barco, CFO; and David Riano, Executive Vice President of Transition Energies. Thank you for your attention. Mr. Roa, you may begin your conference.

Welcome to the operational and financial results call of the Ecopetrol Group. We met our operational and financial targets, consolidating a growth path which set the foundations for a solid beginning for 2025, and enabled new possibilities to progress in the energy transition. I want to highlight our resource replacement results. The reserve replacement ratio was 104% with the addition of 260 million barrels of oil equivalent of proven reserves, maintaining an average reserve life of 7.6 years. This doubles the addition of proven reserves when compared to 2023, which reflects our commitment to the country's energy security. Around 89% of these results respond to organic management and was complemented by the acquisition of Repsol's 45% stake in the CPO-9 block, which added 32 million barrels of oil equivalent to our reserves. We renewed the agreement with Oxy to extend the development plan in the Permian Basin with an estimated investment of $185 million in 2025, including the drilling of 91 development wells. We achieved an average production of 746,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, exceeding our annual goal and the highest level in the last nine years. In exploration, we surpassed our 15 wells target by drilling 16 wells with a total success rate of 43%. The CDUS-2 well, in the Colombian Caribbean offshore, stands out as it is key to expanding the country's gas potential. In midstream, we exceeded our annual goal by transporting an average of 1,119,000 barrels per day. This achievement proves our resilience and operational feasibility, ensuring the supply of crude to the refineries and products to our customers. Regarding downstream, we faced electrical reliability challenges while successfully completing the annual plan of shutdowns and major maintenance, achieving an average operational availability of 94.5% and reaching an average throughput of 414,000 barrels per day. On the commercial front, our trading subsidiaries in Singapore and Houston continued their support in markets and customers, improving the crude margins compared to 2023. We accomplished a year of strong economic performance that generates value for our shareholders despite external factors such as exchange rates and inflation, which affect us recurrently. In 2024, we recorded total revenues of 133.3 trillion pesos, an EBITDA of 54.1 trillion pesos with an EBITDA margin of 41%, and a net income of 14.9 trillion pesos. Excluding external factors, net income would be 21 trillion pesos, an increase of nearly 10% compared to 2023. We invested over $6 billion in CapEx, including the acquisition of CPO-9 in line with our annual plan. Additionally, we collected the entire account receivable from the fuel stabilization price fund of 2023 and celebrated a 63% reduction of the 2024's balance. Efficiencies, which have been important to mitigate cost increases, reached 5.3 trillion pesos, surpassing by 43% the year's ambition. Meanwhile, consolidated payments to all our shareholders reached 42 trillion pesos. In line with the above, we just announced the proposal for a dividend distribution of 214 pesos per share, which will be submitted for approval in the common general shareholders meeting on March 28. In terms of TESG, Ecopetrol obtained the second-best global rating in the oil and gas industry in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index. On the environmental front, I would like to highlight three achievements: the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by more than 462,000 tons of CO2 equivalent since 2020, which represents the CO2 emitted by over 840,000 cars; 81% of water reuse in our operations, increasing 7% in terms of volume compared to 2023; and in biodiversity, historic and awarded division through natural climate solutions projects. On the social side, we invested over 606 billion pesos in the sustainable national allocation of works in lieu of taxes with a 45% churn on the various projects we promote to benefit hundreds of Colombians. In innovation and technology, we became the first Latin American country to join the International Energy Agency's greenhouse gas research and development program, which we aim to boost through the Colombian Petroleum and Energy Transition Institute. In governance, we were recognized as the best company in Colombia for attracting and retaining talent by Merco. We also transformed our organizational structure to become more agile and efficient according to the needs of each business line. Finally, I would like to highlight Ecopetrol's contribution to the regional GDP within Colombia of over 1.33 trillion pesos, proving that sustainability investments generate financial benefits and promote economic development. I now hand over to Rafael Guzman, who will talk about the results in the hydrocarbons business line.

Thank you, Ricardo. In the hydrocarbon business, we are focused on profitability and sustainable cash generation. This is demonstrated by the Ecopetrol Group's successful incorporation of proven reserves in 2024, achieving a reserve replacement ratio of 104% and maintaining an average reserve life of 7.6 years. We added 260 million barrels of oil equivalent in proven reserves, doubling the 2023 addition. In this regard, I would like to highlight the following: improved reserves revisions, the contributions of Rubiales and Caño Sur fields stand out, thanks to the outstanding results of the drilling campaign and the maturation of new projects. Management efforts were focused on economic factors, mitigating the impact of a lower price of Brent, which decreased by $3 per barrel compared to 2023. This was possible thanks to the implementation of initiatives such as cost optimization measures, the strengthening of the crude oil basket, and agreements reached with the ANH regarding their economic rights. These actions not only mitigated the impact but also resulted in the incorporation of over 6 million barrels of oil equivalent in reserves.

Now, the primary contribution derives from the expansion of improved recovery projects in Colombia, amounting to 97 million barrels of oil equivalent, representing 37% of the total incorporation. Extensions and discoveries include the commercialization of Arecife, Saltador, and Torice. On inorganic incorporation, the main contribution relates to the acquisition of Repsol's 45% stake in the CPO-9 block, located in the department of Meta. This purchase added 32 million barrels of oil equivalent to 1P reserves and enabled nearly 8 million barrels of oil equivalent of organic incorporation through synergies with the Chichimene field. Additionally, we executed divestments, resulting in a net addition of 29 million barrels of oil equivalent. It is noteworthy that 89% of the total proven reserves are from fields in Colombia, where we achieved a 109% reserve replacement ratio. Lastly, on the gas front, in 2024, we incorporated 15 million barrels of oil equivalent following two years without adding proven reserves of this hydrocarbon. In addition, as part of our effort to strengthen the gas portfolio, we increased contingent resources by 1.3 trillion cubic feet, mainly from the Sirius discovery. As part of our active and efficient portfolio management, we successfully completed important deals in 2024 to ensure the profitable sustainability of the hydrocarbon business. Regarding acquisitions, and as previously mentioned, the purchase of Repsol's stake in the CPO-9 block strengthens Ecopetrol's position in the Llanos Orientales basin, providing benefits in reserves, production, and potential volumes to be developed of over 250 million barrels of oil. This also enhances decision-making agility and creates synergies in the development and operational cost as Ecopetrol now holds a 100% interest in the cluster that includes the Chichimene, Castilla, and CPO-9 assets. Furthermore, we extended the joint venture between Ecopetrol and Oxy in the Midland area of the Permian Basin until June 2026, with the possibility of signing a new extension of the development plan in the future. The contract for the development of the Delaware sub-basin will remain in force until 2027. Likewise, we implemented a dilution strategy resulting in the signing of ten agreements with Parex, aimed at reactivating areas with high exploration and development potential. Under this agreement, Parex plans to carry out investment exploration activities in Talamanca and Farallones. Simultaneously, we continue to advance our agenda with the National Hydrocarbons Agency (ANH) and the Ministry of Mines and Energy to maximize activities within the areas of existing contracts and agreements. This effort has resulted in the extension of 15 exploration contracts across various regions of Colombia, as illustrated on the map. All these milestones will serve as future sources for reserves incorporation. Let's move to the next slide, please. In exploration, we progressed with the drilling of 16 wells compared to the 15 initially planned, with an investment of $454 million. As a result, seven wells were successful, including one where we confirmed the presence of hydrocarbons during the initial test in January 2025. Two wells are currently under evaluation, and seven wells have no commercial hydrocarbon potential. In addition, we highlight the progression of resources to proven reserves with the commerciality of Arecife, which contributed a total of 6.8 million barrels of oil equivalent. Lastly, in 2024, Ecopetrol acquired interests in four additional blocks in the Santos Sur project in Brazil, with a 30% stake for a total of 11 blocks. In 2024, the Ecopetrol Group achieved a production of 746,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, exceeding the target for the year. These results were primarily supported by the performance of the Permian and Caño Sur fields. Additionally, the continuous contribution of assets in Colombia, such as Castilla, Rubiales, Chichimene, and Piedemonte, generated 42% of the Ecopetrol Group's production. Fields with improved recovery technology contributed nearly 41% of the Ecopetrol Group's total production. Regarding the production levels in the fourth quarter of 2024, it is important to note that the lower levels were anticipated within the projections and are mainly attributed to the anticipation of permanent activity in the first nine months of the year, environmental events due to the rainy season causing electrical disruptions, mainly in Rubiales, Yariguí, Chichimene, and Castilla, hurricanes affecting Ecuador and America, and regular low gas sales during the end of the year. In 2025, we estimate production between 740,000 and 750,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, which incorporates production from the acquisition of 45% of CPO-9 but also considers social unrest risks. In 2024, transported volumes increased by more than 5,800 barrels per day compared to the previous year, primarily driven by graded deliveries of Castilla and North Dakota crude oil to the Barrancabermeja refinery and the implementation of commercial strategies that facilitated the addition of barrels outside the transportation network. Thanks to our mitigation strategies, enhanced operational control, and coordination with government entities, more than 7 million barrels were evacuated from the Caño Limón field through the Bicentenario pipeline following the suspension of the section of the Caño Limón-Coveñas pipeline. In 2024, this segment achieved the highest net income, amounting to 5.2 trillion pesos, and recorded the second-highest EBITDA, reaching 11 trillion pesos, contributing to 20% of the total EBITDA of the Ecopetrol Group. In 2024, the refineries achieved a throughput of 414,000 barrels per day with an average annual operational availability of 94.5%, despite a challenging market and operational environment. The gross refining margin decreased by $7.7 per barrel compared to 2023. In 2024, it stands at $9.9 per barrel. Seventy-eight percent of this impact is due to the decline in international fuel prices, mainly affecting diesel, gasoline, and jet fuel. Eleven percent is primarily due to the effect of the lower availability of segregated light crude oil at the Barrancabermeja refinery as a result of the attacks on the Caño Limón-Coveñas pipeline. The remaining eleven percent was the result of operational events such as the limitation of the coke compressor and the power shutdown at the Cartagena refinery. Regarding the latter, we continue advancing in the comprehensive plan to restore the refineries' electrical reliability, having completed four of the sixteen planned milestones. By 2025, we aim to advance ten milestones. As a result of the aforementioned factors, the segment's EBITDA stood at 2.2 trillion pesos in 2024, 69% less than the previous year. Normalizing for exogenous factors, the EBITDA would have been 6.9 trillion pesos, with an EBITDA margin of 9.9%. In 2025, the segment's efforts are concentrated on levers to enhance business profitability and mitigate exogenous effects such as cost and expense optimization, focus on operational and logistical efficiency, initiatives to maximize business profitability through the production of higher-value products, including petrochemicals, asphalt, and chemical recycling, and the execution of energy transition projects aimed at sustainability and diversification of refining products into new markets such as renewable jet and diesel production, aromatic petrochemistry, low-emissions hydrogen production, and improvements in air quality. In 2024, the Ecopetrol Group continued its efficiency strategy with a contribution of 5.3 trillion pesos, exceeding the target proposed for the year. As shown in the lower left figure, the efficiencies were able to offset the increase in total unit cost by $0.97 per barrel, resulting in a total unit cost of $47.71 per barrel in 2024. Lifting, transportation, and refining costs were impacted by exogenous factors such as exchange rate, inflation, and gas price. This year, we will continue to execute our efficiencies program with new initiatives aimed at increasing the profitability of our operations and investments, maximizing asset value, enhancing synergies within the integrated hydrocarbon chain, and identifying optimizations in our supply chain. The program aims to achieve efficiencies of 4.6 trillion pesos. Now I'll turn it over to David, who will discuss the main milestones of the energies for the transition business line. Thank you, Rafael. In Ecopetrol, we acknowledge the importance of natural gas as the transition mechanism to cleaner energies. For this reason, we remain committed to the incorporation of our portfolio of options that allow us to contribute to the reliable supply of national demand in the coming years. To achieve this, we are implementing all actions and investments necessary to support the country's energy security. In 2024, we successfully delivered the gas committed under contracts with third parties, with an average of 506 GBTU per day of natural gas and 15,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day of LPG. This led to a production of 170.2 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day of natural gas and LPG, with an EBITDA generation of nearly 2.9 trillion pesos. This EBITDA is 70% lower than in 2023, mainly due to a lower availability of domestic natural gas and LPG, and exchange rate variations. However, we continue our efforts to ensure that this business line makes a significant contribution to the achievement of our long-term goals. Throughout most of 2024, we assessed various alternatives for importing natural gas through market information requests and internal analysis. These evaluations, both technical and financial, explored options that could support gas demand until offshore projects come online. In this context, we highlight progress in two important areas: the startup of the Virginia LNG project, which allowed us to identify its benefits from the technical and commercial point of view for meeting medium-term natural gas demand, and the approval to continue the studies during 2025. The binding process for regasification services, the first of its kind, seeks private companies to offer a regasification service to Ecopetrol. In regulatory matters, we highlight the company's efforts to promote the updating of gas marketing rules in key areas such as commercialization mechanisms for the volumes coming from new gas projects, endorsement to develop the transportation infrastructure required to connect new projects with users, and the need for regulatory certainty related to the development of new gas projects and the possibility of developing natural gas imports. In this line, relevant advances have materialized for the market, such as the correct resolutions that structurally modify and make more flexible periods for natural gas commercialization and promote the use of all the volumes available in the market. The Act 1467 of 2024 makes imports and offshore natural gas sources viable. Finally, the supply plan includes strategic transportation infrastructures for the development of new supply. In terms of energy efficiency, between 2018 and 2024, we reached a cumulative energy optimization of 19.9 petajoules, equivalent to the annual gas and power consumption of more than one million homes, contributing to decarbonizing close to 1.2 million tons of CO2 equivalent and generating savings of 389 billion pesos. These results have a major impact on the goals of Colombia's National Energy Efficiency Program, which promotes an efficient use of energy in different sectors and activities of the economy, representing 72% of the national goal for the oil and gas sector. Regarding the integration of renewable energies into our energy matrix, by the end of 2024, the Ecopetrol Group accumulated 611 megawatts of capacity from non-conventional renewable energy sources in operation, execution, and construction, with a potential contribution of 1.6 terawatt-hours per year, which corresponds to a 19% share in the group's energy matrix and a 52% lower target when compared to non-regulated energy purchases. The combined effect of these efforts in transition energies, including the final investment decision and the start of construction of the Coral project at the Cartagena refinery, a plant for green hydrogen production using PEM technology with an electrolysis capacity of 5 megawatts, strengthens our position to achieve our goals. In summary, 2024 ends with 68% progress towards our goal of incorporating 900 megawatts of non-conventional renewable energy sources by 2025, 80% progress towards our target of 25 petajoules in energy efficiency by 2030, and a clear path in 2025 to escalate up green hydrogen production at an industrial level. As part of our commitment to promote a fair energy transition and contribute to sustainable territorial transformation, by the end of 2024, the Ecopetrol Group impacted more than 13,000 people with renewable energy solutions, supporting the consolidation of the largest energy community in the country located in Manaure, La Guajira, and connected communities with renewable energy solutions for biodiversity and peace. Additionally, we connected more than 25,000 families to natural gas service for a total amount of 69,000 since 2019. In 2025, we aim to execute 16 additional projects, connecting 30,000 new families in more than ten departments around the country. I will now pass the floor to Camilo, who will present our transmission and road business line and the main financial milestones.

Thank you, David. In 2024, ISA achieved the highest net profit in its history, driven by the entry into operation of new projects and by the recognition of the periodic tariff review for transmission companies in Brazil during the third quarter of the year. The 12% increase in revenues, 8% rise in EBITDA, and 43% growth in net income compared to 2023 highlight our strong performance. Net income results were partially due to impairment figures of the year compared to 2023. In line with our strategic diversification goals, by the year-end, ISA's individual results enhanced its contribution to the Ecopetrol Group, accounting for 12% of consolidated revenues, 18% of EBITDA, and 6% of net income. Consequently, the average return on equity measured by the ROE indicator reached 16.9% in 2024, up from 14.4% in 2023. ISA accelerated its investment execution in 2024, reaching 4.8 trillion pesos with a robust investment plan committed to achieving the 2030 target of 26.1 trillion pesos. This year's execution included the launch of 15 projects across various regions, such as the Minuano project in Brazil, connection service to the substation in Colombia, and the Ruta Loa project in Chile. By 2030, 5,600 kilometers of circuit to the grid and 296 kilometers of toll roads will be added through the development of 38 projects that are currently under construction. With investments of 3.8 trillion pesos, ISA secured ten tenders in power transmission, including notable projects such as the Ruta Orbital Sur in Chile and the East Pan American route in Panama. Finally, we will launch our ISA 2040 investment strategy on March 12, which will continue to strengthen our regional growth. Let's go to the next slide to detail the financial performance of the group. The strong financial results for 2024 were driven by our sustained efforts to achieve structural efficiencies, maintain profitability, uphold a strong cash position, exercise continued capital discipline, and mitigate external factors. Key financial achievements for 2024 include an ROE of 10.2% and an EBITDA margin of 41%, above the annual target with a significant contribution coming from the transportation segment. Optimization of our debt structure through strategic operations for around 22 trillion pesos, pursuing an early refinancing plan and lower interest expenses. In addition, the company kept its gross debt to EBITDA ratio under control at 2.2 times and extended the average life of debt from 8.5 years in 2023 to 9.3 years in 2024. The highest free cash flow in our history was underpinned by strong operational performance and the collection of the account receivable from the fuel price stabilization fund accrued in 2023. Given these positive results, we proposed an attractive dividend payout of 58.9% with a dividend per share of 214 pesos. This proposal is aligned with our dividend policy and will be coordinated with our majority shareholder to achieve a parallel payment of the PPEC balance accumulated in 2024. Let's now look at our cash position and results. In 2024, the significant decline of the PPEC receivable favored our cash position, which was adversely affected in 2023 in terms of working capital. The effective balance closed at 7.6 trillion pesos, the lowest level since 2021, thanks to the collection of 20.5 trillion pesos during 2024, in addition to the increase of gasoline prices and a slight rise in diesel prices. For 2025, we anticipate the PPEC balance to range between 4 and 6 trillion pesos, assuming the current price scenario remains unchanged. The robust 18.2 trillion pesos cash position for the year-end on a consolidated basis will be primarily allocated to the 2025 investment plan, as well as to operational and financial obligations. Our EBITDA reached 54.1 trillion pesos in 2024, with an EBITDA margin of 41%, setting one of the highest profitability levels in our history. It's important to mention that our EBITDA decreased by approximately 6.6 trillion pesos compared to the previous year due to external factors impacting 7.8 trillion pesos, including a 45% impact from price decreases, consolidating the Brent reference price and product and crude oil differentials, a 37% impact from the lower average FX rate of the year, and an 18% effect from inflation. Excluding these externalities, the adjusted EBITDA would have been approximately 62 trillion pesos, representing a 43% EBITDA margin. In 2024, we executed a challenging investment plan, achieving $6.1 billion in both organic and inorganic investments. Investments were primarily allocated in Colombia (65%) and internationally (35%), mainly in the US Permian Basin. Organic investments in the hydrocarbon segment accounted for 68% of the group's total investments, with significant projects in Caño Sur, Chichimene, Acacias, and the Permian drilling campaign. Twenty percent of the investments were allocated to ISA, enhancing progress made in 38 projects under construction by ISA and its subsidiaries. Additionally, commercial operations commenced in 15 power transmission projects, improvements were made to the ISA energy grid in Brazil, and the Ruta del Loa project in Chile was initiated. The energy transition business segment executed 13% of the group's total investments, focusing on the gas supply chain in basins such as Permian, offshore Tayrona block, and Piedemonte, as well as renewable energy projects like the Juana Solar Eco Park and the Kifa Solar Farm. Finally, $239 million were allocated to inorganic investments to acquire 45% of Repsol's stake in the CPO-9 block and for the acquisition of Oleoducto Central S.A.'s non-controlling interest by ISA. Now let's comment on our 2025 investment plan. For 2025, the investment plan aims at sustained growth, controlled costs, and ensuring profitability for our shareholders while strengthening our traditional business. We plan to invest between 24 and 28 trillion pesos, with 60% allocated to energy security. This includes enhancing our crude oil production, securing refining throughput, and meeting domestic fuel demand with our own products. The remaining 40% of our investments will be allocated towards the energy transition, including sustainability, innovation, and electricity transmission and toll roads. The investment plan is based on an average Brent price scenario of $73 per barrel. It aims to preserve competitive returns with a 39% EBITDA margin and achieve efficiencies exceeding 4 trillion pesos. Such a plan does not account for the export taxes and stamp tax introduced by Colombia's internal promotion decree in February 2025. Nevertheless, we do not anticipate significant impacts on its execution. Finally, I would like to discuss the main challenges we identified for this year and outline our finance team's plans to address them. Like our peers, we will remain focused on reversing the trend of costs. For this, we set a lifting cost target ranging from $12 to $13 per barrel for the whole year, aiming to reach the lower end of the range. Additionally, our debt management strategy will focus on addressing cash needs that may arise from inorganic opportunities and continuing to reduce financial costs. To optimize our return on capital employed and profitability, we will focus on managing our assets and the turnover of our portfolio. Finally, we continue taking action to support the dynamism of our stock and create value for our shareholders. Recently, we announced two key initiatives: a temporary decrease in ADR conversion costs and the appointment of a market maker for local stock. I now turn the floor over to the president for his closing remarks.

Thank you, Camilo. The satisfactory results of 2024 allow us to continue generating value and profitability in 2025 based on strict capital discipline and cash rotation criteria. For this year, the operational and financial goals we have set respond to the need to keep enhancing organic production of hydrocarbons, preserve operational availability and reliability across our infrastructure, increase our efforts related to efficiencies and decarbonization while consolidating the energy transition business line, and maintain our leadership in energy transmission in the region. We recognize the challenges ahead, so our efforts will focus mainly on enhancing flexible operations to address contingencies and preserve continuity, enabling cost efficiency alternatives that allow us to maintain our competitiveness. I thank all the employees of the Ecopetrol Group for their hard work in 2024 and encourage them to keep moving forward in 2025. Thank you all for participating in this conference call.

We will now start the question and answer session. I ask you to please have a maximum of three questions to give time for all the participants. Please select in the interpretation icon the language of your question. Otherwise, we will not be able to listen to you. Thank you. Has a question. Mister, you can ask.

Good morning, everybody. Can you hear me? Good morning. Thank you for the opportunity. Very quickly, three questions. The first is I'd like to understand a little bit of the impairment terms of that the refining segment because one of the reasons to do that reversal is that the difference between the prices and margins were adjusted to the upper side. I'd like to understand those assumptions that you're using so that you could have that value of these appraisals. The first question is that. The second has to do with the profitability that you're estimating an EBITDA margin for 2025 of 39%. Does that mean that you're expecting a reduction in the EBITDA margin because this year we had it as 41%? Actually, we did a piecing. So I'd like to understand a little bit why do you see that reduction in the profits. And that should be a margin that we should hope to be stable in a little in a medium term. And I'm surprised because this year, we too have lower SG&A service because we have lower prices in terms of the plant oil and rate of exchange. So I'd like to understand why they still like picking a and a payment in this margin. And lastly, the third question has to do with recently, at the end of last year, you enabled the self-report generation through a regulation. I'd like to know whether that is real and how likely is it that the payment of the end balance would be made using the assets from Aura. And in addition, whether it is true that this that they made an offer for the project where the CapEx that you are mentioning are also including these. Those are my three questions.

Good morning, Katherine. This is Camilo Barco. Thank you for your questions. My microphone was also you couldn't hear us. So I'd like to start by the question about the impairment, which was shown in the last quarter of 2024. And this is something that we do according to generally accepted methodology, which is for microvaluation, which is based on the valuation through discounted cash flows for the short, medium, and long terms. In that respect, there's really perhaps three or four factors that affect this adjustment that we can on this recovery that we can see in the statement of results for the previous year. First of all, I'd like to mention the curves that we used to project the prices. They are companies, international companies, long-standing companies that produce the type of information. And we use that information for our impairment exercise, basically, when the kitchen plants when the dish has. And these are gross scenarios and projections, the ones that we use in our evaluation. In those curves, we see that there will be a recovery of the price differential prices for the products which are used for the medium and the long term. That would be one of the factors. The second one has to do with the local crude availability for our refineries, which allows us to optimize the cost of the input and the crudes that are processed therein. Thirdly, there's a component that has to do with the discount rate, and the discount rates that we're used to have some small adjustments in terms of including some risk factors. And when we add the projections, the local component, the adjustments for the rates, we have positive repayment, which reflects a recovery of approximately 0.9 billion in the last quarter for 2024. I hope that this I have answered your question about impairments. The second question I had about the EBITDA margin we are projecting for the next year. An EBITDA margin for around 39%. That EBITDA margin, as you can see, is the result of applying price projection for this year, which was the last time we had for 2024. This year, we're working with a Brent projection of $73 per barrel. It's lower than what we used for the previous year, which was around $80 per barrel. This is an important effect. However, it's a but time to repeat our firmest commitments to the efficiencies for this year have an efficiency plan which is greater than 4 trillion pesos to 4.5 trillion pesos, which are unable to offset a good to a good miracle there. Behavior of Excellent. Alright. Well, this is the EBITDA margin predicted based on prices and the behavior of what we expect for the price of Brent and of refined products for this year, 2025. I'll give the floor now to the president to actually the issue about remote self-determination and the possible acquisition of renewable generation assets.

Katherine, good morning. This is Ricardo. My third question has to do with whether we could you're speaking about the possibility of buying assets such as Aura, to compensate the cross from the, to the governmental at the end of 2024. Those alternatives have been assessed in conversation from the Ministry of the Treasury. We have an offer with the appropriate regulations to allow to acquire this type of assets, after any evaluation of the assets. It is not so relevant about the balance of this 7.6 trillion pesos that we ended at the balance at the end of 2025. However, looking at the regulations, if there were the appropriate reasons to apply that, remote generation to a system like that, we will continue to assess them right now he talks with the technical groups in the financial finance. We have an agenda for the repayment of the PPEC as we get the repayment of the dividends to the nation. About the ipeche program project the parties, that's in Ecopetrol, and, you know, would have been working to perfect an agreement for this transaction. Bridges of the project in Guajira. If we make the agreement under a confidential basis will carry out the appropriate procedure, the procedures, and after we close the process, we would in publish the details about your communication. All through the communication channels.

First of all? The second thing is what does extension include? How many acres and what is the potential that you see for these acres that are in the middle in terms of total locations for drilling to what understand what is the additional potential that you might look at.

First of all, I'd like to tell you that about the Permian project? I'll give the floor to Luisiana. The Vice President of New Business to tell you about the details of this extension of the agreement with Oxy for extending the protection of the assets in the Midland Basin.

Thank you, President. Good morning, Daniel, and Dennis. Vice President of Strategy and New Business. We, with our CEO, as I mentioned in the introduction, we had an agreement to extend that the activity plan. And I want to emphasize that. At that point, because the ownership of the acreage doesn't change. The ownership of protection doesn't change. Why? We extend it for the activity by, obviously, as an operator within the contract of the joint venture. We must remember that with our entry in 2019, we purchased 49% of an area of close to 95,000 acres in Midland. And then an area close to 20,000 acres in Delaware. And that area is which is being on development right now. So this is there's a that's included in this area. Only includes an extension of the plan.

Let me talk about the second part. Which is the after the day of the second. The day after the signature was signed, the President of Republic of the Board of Directors asked the board of directors to medical and economic analysis required to get out get out of that. That's what we do constantly. We do valuation and assessment fixes. It is only assets not only in the US, but also in our geographies around the world where we have agreements. So we are very respectful of the times the terms, and the times of the agreements that we signed with our allies. And in that respect, we continue to make our decisions with the capital discipline key criteria that you know.

Is the potential of unconventional oil and gas in Colombia an opportunity or is that something that you're not considering right now? And if you're not, I like to know what are the reasons why not go after these opportunities.

It is clear that in the country, the current government policy is rigorous with respect to demanding that we stop for the time the activity of these explorations and the contracts then. We had as partners have been suspended or closed properly. Leaving any environmental economic liability spending with the contractors that we're doing our operations. As long as we still have regulations or regulations and ours. That prohibit this activity in the country. Very good. We've been told. Focusing his attention to exploring and looking forward. Looking for petroleum and gas with the concepts that we have and in the areas where we're also exploring is to be able to place molecules and growth in the system. That's what we are doing. And within that frame of work where carrying out these projects. And we're making significant investments. I give the floor to Julia. To tell you about the details of the station.

Could we have more investment, more assets due to the profits Okay. Thank you for the question. All we have is a organic growth plan which is significant for the twenty twenty five, twenty thirty of approximately between seven billion dollars in various countries where we are have presence in energy and roads especially in energy. Oh, it's just the most significant with eighty percent eighty-four percent of these investments which are fifty percent in Brazil, and the rest is in Colombia, Peru, and Chile.

Thank you, everybody. This concludes the question and answer session. Please feel free to reach out if you have any further questions. Thank you for attending this call.