Canada's Frontera Energy Corp. named a new CEO on April 2, and said it plans to more than double its investment in operations in Colombia and Peru during 2018, to up to $500 million.

Frontera will direct between $225 million and $240 million of investment to new wells and maintenance in the two countries, the company said in a statement.

The investment will fund between 125 and 135 development wells, 11 to 15 exploratory wells and 15 to 25 work-over wells, the company said. Workover wells require major maintenance or remedial treatment.

Richard Herbert, formerly of BP Plc (NYSE: BP), will replace Barry Larson as CEO. At BP, Herbert was responsible for exploration and development projects worldwide, Frontera said.

Frontera had an average daily production of 70,082 barrels of crude per day (bbl/d) in 2017, the statement said, down 32% from 2016 because of the end of its contract to operate Rubiales Field, its top producer. The company aims to produce between 65,000 bbl/d and 70,000 bbl/d this year, it said.

Based on a Brent oil price of $63/bbl, the company anticipates 2018 EBITDA of between $375 million and $425 million, it said.

Frontera had a net loss of $217 million in 2017, compared with net profit of $2.4 billion in 2016, the company said by telephone.