BOGOTA: The proven oil and gas reserves of Colombia's majority state-owned oil company Ecopetrol closed 2020 down 6.5% versus the end of 2019, it said in a statement on Friday.

Ecopetrol's proven reserves - also known as 1P reserves - finished last year at 1.77 billion barrels of oil equivalent (boe), compared with 1.89 billion boe at the end of 2019.

The decline in 1P reserves was mainly caused by the 32% price drop in hydrocarbon prices, Ecopetrol said.

The Brent price used for valuation in 2020 was $43 per barrel, compared with $63 per barrel in 2019, implying a decrease of 215 million boe, the company said.

The decline was offset partly by the addition of 114 million boe coming from new projects, Ecopetrol said.

During the year Ecopetrol produced 236 million boe, it added.

The company said crude made up 71% of its total proven reserves, equivalent to some 6.8 years of production, with gas accounting for the remaining 29% of reserves, or 10.1 years.