Colombia's state oil company Ecopetrol reported late on July 28 the presence of hydrocarbons at its Kronos-1 well in ultra-deep waters of the Caribbean Sea.

The discovery was made at a depth of 3,720 meters (12,200 feet) at the well in the Fuerte Sur block, about 53 km (33 miles) offshore, Ecopetrol said in a filing with the financial regulator.

Colombia, Latin America's fourth biggest oil producer, is struggling to increase output to make up for revenue lost by the decline in global oil prices.

Ecopetrol jointly owns the Kronos-1 with Texas-based Anadarko.

Colombia had output above 1 million barrels a day so far this year and reserves of around 2.3 billion barrels in 2014.