The U.S. affiliate of Colombia's Ecopetrol will explore for oil in four blocks in the Gulf of Mexico, partially in partnership with Anadarko U.S. Offshore Corp., the company said.

Three of the blocks, located off the Texas coast, will be explored with Anadarko U.S. Offshore, a unit of Anadarko Petroleum Corp. The two companies offered $2.4 million for exploration rights, Ecopetrol said.

Ecopetrol has complete rights to exploration in the fourth block, for which it bid $2.8 million in August.

The U.S. government's Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has approved the bids. Ecopetrol first explored in the Gulf in 2008.