On June 30, under the termination of a contract, Canada’s Pacific Exploration & Production Corp. reverted the Rubiales Field to Ecopetrol SA.

The field became Colombia’s most important and largest-producing oil field. Pacific Exploration achieved record gross production of 214,000 barrels per day (Mbbl/d) in the field by 2013—20% of Colombia’s oil production.

On March 13, 2015, Pacific Exploration and Colombia’s Ecopetrol agreed not to extend the Rubiales and Pirirí contracts, and termination took place June 30, 2016. Upon this termination, any wells in production in the Rubiales and Pirirí blocks will revert to Ecopetrol free of charge and without any compensation.

In an eight-year period, Pacific Exploration drilled more than 1,000 wells and invested more than US$5 billion in E&P at the Rubiales Field. Additionally, Pacific and Ecopetrol made a significant investment in transport infrastructure by building the Oleoducto de los Llanos Orientales Pipeline, which connects to the national pipeline system, carrying crude from the Rubiales Field.

When Pacific Exploration acquired the Rubiales Field in 2007, it was only producing 14,547 bbl/d due to security conditions, the high operating cost for heavy crude and the lack of infrastructure and transport facilities.