“This second discovery in the Gulf of Mexico in the last eight months is in line with the goal we have set to position Ecopetrol as a Pan-American company.” – Ecopetrol President Juan Carlos Echeverry

Warrior-2, which was drilled to a depth of 31,646 feet, is operated by the Texas-based Anadarko Production Corporation. Ecopetrol subsidiary Ecopetrol America Inc. owns 30% of the block.

The two companies also have joint control of the nearby K2 production field, which Ecopetrol has a 9.21% stake in. The Bogotá-based firm believes that the associated Marco Polo platform presents a “clear competitive advantage” given its ability to help facilitate “streamlined” operations in the exploration of the Warrior-2 well.

If the volume of the discovery proves significant, this could be another step forward for Ecopetrol as it ramps up its exploration activity this year in an attempt to begin to extend a reserve life that sat at 6.8 years as of February.

“This second discovery in the Gulf of Mexico in the last eight months is in line with the goal we have set to position Ecopetrol as a Pan-American company,” said Juan Carlos Echeverry, president of Ecopetrol S.A. “This good news confirms the success we are achieving with our strategy to search for new hydrocarbon reserves.”

Through its Ecopetrol America Inc. subsidiary, the state-controlled Colombian oil giant has a 20% stake in the well. Anadarko Petroleum Corporation and Anadarko US Offshore LLC operate the well and hold a 65% stake. MCX Exploration LLC controls the remaining 15% of the well.

Ecopetrol, which just increased its stake in Warrior from 15% to 20% in August, expects the well to use the production facilities of the nearby Marco Polo platform, which is also operated by Anadarko.

“We are pleased to end the year with this significant discovery that contributes to our primary goal of increasing reserves,” said Juan Carlos Echeverry, president of Ecopetrol. “This success demonstrates Ecopetrol’s ability to strengthen its presence in one of the most prosperous oil areas in the world, the Gulf of Mexico. We needed to improve the aim in exploration and we are doing it.”

The Warrior well marks the fifth Ecopetrol discovery in the United States, a region where the company’s production has tripled throughout 2016, from just 3,500 barrels per day in July to around 12,000 per day now. The company is also encouraged by another find that comes through a strategy to partner with other companies in order to diversify exploration risk.

The bulk of the firm’s U.S. output comes from its 31.5% stake in the Gunflint well that started producing oil this year in the Gulf of Mexico, hitting 20,000 barrels of oil equivalent output per day in mid-August. Another contributor is its 9.2% holding in the K2 field, which is located just a few kilometers from the Warrior and Marco Polo sites.

In the past, Ecopetrol has made discoveries in the United States in Rydberg and Leon in 2014 following its first two discoveries at Dalmatian South and Parmer in 2012.

Ecopetrol is also partnering with Anadarko on a well in the Caribbean. They were expected to begin drilling on their Kronos discovery in Colombian waters this year.