Ecopetrol S.A., through its subsidiary in the United States, submitted the best bids for 7 blocks offered in the round “Oil & Gas Lease Sale 218”.This was disclosed in New Orleans by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), the governmental authority in charge of the process in the U.S. Ecopetrol’s interest in all blocks is 100%, with an area of 163sq/km; they are located on the western part of the Gulf Coast in the United States, specifically East Breaks and Keathley Canyon. The official awarding of the blocks will be conducted by BOEM in the coming months, after the bids have been checked and the companies have fulfilled the conditions required for the round. The Gulf Coast of the United States is one of the focus areas of Ecopetrol’s internationalization strategy. The new blocks are added to the 19 obtained on the Gulf Coast in 2010, along with other oil companies. With these additional 7 blocks, the company will increase its participation in this region to 119 blocks. Ecopetrol announced its first discovery on the Gulf Coast this past 27 October 2011, at the Logan-1 well, where it holds a 20% participation.