A Parex site in Colombia

Parex acquires Verano amidst market consolidation

BOGOTÁ , July 2, 2014 – Canada-listed Parex Resources has finished its acquisition of Verano Energy, in a $198-million deal between the two Colombia-focused firms.

 

The move allows Parex to expand its working interest in three of its 17 blocks in Colombia, most of them in the Los Llanos Basin in the eastern part of the country. It will become the operator of the Llanos 32 block.

In May this year, Parex signed an agreement with state-controlled Ecopetrol to acquire 50 percent of the Capachos block, also in Los Llanos, and assume operatorship.

The Colombian oil industry has seen a spate of mergers and acquisitions over the past year, as the industry is consolidating after a 2013 downturn. In August 2013, oilfield services company Estrella acquired San Antonio and Pacific Rubiales, Colombia’s second-largest producer, bought Petrominerales in November of the same year.

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