Confident: Ecopetrol's Javier Gutierrez
Ecopetrol boss sees output rise
Colombia's oil output this year could rise to 700,000 barrels per day, up from last year's 588,000 bpd, Javier Gutierrez, the head of state-run producer Ecopetrol, said.
"We hope to be able to be at 700,000 [bpd] by the end of 2009," Reuters quoted him as saying.
Production in Ecuador rose 15.5% in August to 660,000 bpd versus the same month last year, the government said earlier.
Colombia is increasing oil investment as state security forces push back Marxist guerrillas who once controlled areas rich in petroleum reserves.
President Alvaro Uribe, Washington's main ally in South America, may run for office again next year if his supporters manage to amend the constitution to allow him to campaign for an unprecedented third term.