UPDATE 1-Colombia's Ecopetrol sees NYSE listing 4th qtr
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LA JOLLA, Calif., May 13 (Reuters) - Colombia's state-controlled oil company, Ecopetrol SA ECO.CN, expects to list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange by the fourth quarter, the company's CEO, Javier Gutierrez, said on Tuesday.
"It's something we are working on right now. We have to get a registration with the (U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission)," Gutierrez told reporters on the sidelines of an industry conference.
Ecopetrol has no plans for a secondary offering when it launches its American Depositary Share listing, Gutierrez added.
Ecopetrol raised $2.8 billion last November in its initial public offering in Colombia that placed a 10.1 percent interest in the company with local pension funds and private investors.
Existing legislation allows up to 20 percent of Ecopetrol to be held by private investors, although individual shareholders are limited to a maximum stake of 3 percent.
"We'll see the additional 9.9 percent when it is necessary for our business plan," said Gutierrez.
Ecopetrol, which is debt-free, currently has enough cash flow and cash on hand from the IPO to fund its planned investments in the short term.
The company plans to invest $4.185 billion this year, up from $1.76 billion in 2007. Approximately $1.9 billion will be invested to develop oil and gas production. Another $467 million is to be spent on exploration activities, including the drilling of 20 exploration wells, Gutierrez said.
Ecopetrol plans to spend $60 billion between 2008 and 2015 as it seeks to raise oil and gas production to 1 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) from approximately 490,000 boepd today.
The business plan also contemplates a large expansion of Ecopetrol's downstream businesses including refining and petrochemicals. (Reporting by Robert CamHpbell, editing by Dave Zimmerman)
