Ecopetrol S.A.

Good morning, my name is Laura Avila and I'll be your moderator today. Welcome to Ecopetrol's earnings conference call in which we'll discuss the main financial and operational results of the fourth quarter and year-end 2022. There will be a Q&A session at the end of the presentation. Before we begin, it is important to mention that the comments in this call by Ecopetrol's senior management include projections of the company's future performance. These projections do not constitute any commitment as to future results, nor do they take into account risks or uncertainties that could materialize. As a result, Ecopetrol assumes no responsibility in the event that the future results are different from the projections shared on this conference call. The call will be led by Mr. Felipe Bayon, CEO of Ecopetrol. Jamie Wise, Vice President of Low Emission Solutions, Alberto Consuegra, COO, Jaime Caballero, CFO, María Paula Camacho, Vice President of Legal Affairs and General Secretary, and Diana Escobar, Vice President of Sustainable Development. Thank you for your attention. We may now proceed with the conference call.

Good morning and welcome to Ecopetrol's fourth quarter and year-end 2022 results conference call. I would like to start by highlighting the efforts and commitment of more than 18,000 direct employees and some 130,000 indirect employees. Thanks to all of them, we can deliver the best results ever in the history of the Equipetrol Group. In the year 2022, we generated revenues of almost 160 trillion pesos, an EBITDA of 75.2 trillion pesos, and a net income of 33.4 trillion pesos, doubling the net income obtained in year 2021. These results are underpinned, amongst other things, by some of the following factors. A favorable environment of international prices, the increased production of hydrocarbons, our traditional business, our trading strategy, outstanding results in the electricity transmission, toll roads and telecommunication business line, and the growth in domestic demand for our fuels, which meant higher sales of products. Our operational, financial, and TESG results were aligned with the goals set for the year, exceeding them in some cases. This reflects our commitment to our competitiveness and sustainability of all of our businesses. I would like to take the opportunity to highlight some of the achievements. In 2022, we had no fatalities in our operations and achieved the lowest total recordable injury frequency rate, TRIF, in the company's history, reflecting a reliable and safe operation environment for all of our employees. We had an average production for the year of over 709,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, exceeding the goal set for 2022. Our renewable energy supply capacity reached 208 megawatts in 2022. We had higher social and environmental investments, which reached 615 billion pesos, a 31% increase when compared to year 2021. And some of the other indicators I'd like to highlight are gross debt to EBITDA ratio closing at 1.5 times our operating cash flow generation of some 36 trillion pesos, and the execution of our CAPEX of more than $5.4 billion in year 2022. All this reflects the group's capital discipline and financial strength. Let's move on to the next slide. After overcoming two crises in less than a decade, we managed to deliver historic results accomplishing transformational milestones such as the drilling of the first offshore well operated by a Colombian company, Molusco Uno, in 2017, and then the three offshore discoveries in the Colombian Caribbean achieved since then. We entered the Permian Basin in a very successful alliance with Occidental in 2019. And during the years of 2020 and 2021, Through a program called Apoyo País, we contributed more than 139 billion pesos to Colombians during the pandemic, during COVID, and provided commercial relief to customers and suppliers. In 2021, we acquired 51.4% of ESA, and we've had, over all these years, deployed several initiatives in terms of strengthening our operations, safety, TSD, and our financial discipline. All of these have allowed us to trace a path of responsible transformation to move from being the traditional integrated oil and gas company to now a diversified energy group. Today, Ecopetrol operates in three solid business lines aimed at guaranteeing the generation of value for all of our stakeholders. The first one, hydrocarbons. where I would like to highlight the increase in the volumes of our production, transportation, and refining operations. And I'd like to share with you that in year-end 2022, we reached a production exit rate exceeding pre-pandemic levels. Our refining segment reached more than 400,000 barrels of consolidated throughput, basically due to the expansion of Cartagena Refinery and very good operational capabilities in both refineries, and the transportation of hydrocarbons and fuels that increased by more than 6% when compared with 2021. For the low-emission businesses, I'd like to highlight the Gorgon II and Ochoa ONU discoveries that confirmed the presence of gas in deep and ultra-deep waters in the Colombian Caribbean, the production of the first green hydrogen molecule in the country as part of our strategic plan of low-carbon hydrogen, and the operational startup of our third solar park, Brisas, in the Department of Huila, with a capacity of 26 megawatts. Finally, for our third line of business, In electricity, transmission, toll roads, and telecommunications, I would like to highlight the 32% growth in ESA's net income year on year, as well as the progress in the construction of 32 energy projects that represent more than 4,600 additional kilometers of high-voltage power transmission lines. Let's now move on to the next slide. Ecopetrol acknowledges its position as a key player in the national economy and its development. That is why our strategic planning always considers responsibility and commitment with the regions in which we operate. Last year, 2022, Ecopetrol transferred to the nation over 42 trillion pesos in dividends, royalties, and taxes. Likewise, the company's contribution is also reflected in things like, today, more than 2,100 families in the farming and rural communities. 128,000 students, and some 764,000 people with access to drinking water and sanitation, all benefit with our social environmental investments. The value promised to our more than 255,000 minority shareholders and some 18 million Colombians who have contributed to the pension funds. Our contribution to the country's balance of trade, which exports that represent around 30% of total Colombian exports. The continuous improvement in the quality of fuels consumed every day by Colombians. The promotion of employment through the increase in the hiring of diverse talent with more than 20,000 inclusive jobs that include, amongst others, More than 560 people with disabilities, 7% of our human talent identified as part of ethnic minorities, and 5% identified as victims of the armed conflict. A generation of some 130,000 indirect jobs to our contractors in year 2022. It is through these fronts and efforts that we continue to work to be the energy that transform. Let's move on to the next slide. When we think about decarbonization, our goals in all of our operations remain intact, remain in place, where we're focusing on achieving a 25% reduction of scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2030 and a net zero emissions by 2050, whilst also reducing total emissions, that would be scope 1, 2, and 3, by 50% by year 2050. In 2022, we made decisive progress in our decarbonization strategy, And I want to highlight a few things. Energy efficiency. And through some of these initiatives, we have allowed to avoid the emissions of 138,000 tons of CO2 equivalent. Last year, we closed around 1,700 methane leaks, exceeding the goals that we have set for ourselves. We avoided emissions in the startup of our Castilla and San Fernando solar farms of more than 32,000 tons of CO2 equivalent. We've offset in crude oil and products that we've given to our clients some 149,000 tons of CO2 equivalent. In the same year, we purchased over 118,000 tons of carbon credits through our trading desk. Our first fuel gas flaring report to the Global Gas Flaring Reduction Partnership, according to the commitments made to the World Bank Zero Routing Flaring Initiative. And we also did something, it was an unprecedented research campaign, where we studied the Caribbean mangroves, the Middle Magdalena wetlands, and the Orinoco Forest that was initiated to understand, amongst others, the state of conservation, ecological capacities such as carbon inventories and their carbon fixation capacities, analysis of vegetation covered through multi-temporal images, global factors of loss, and gain of ecosystem functionality and relationships with the communities. In addition, today Ecopetrol has different businesses certified as carbon neutral. These are Essentia, our subsidiary in the Petchem business, our hydrocarbon transportation businesses that would be CENIT, OSENSA, ODC, ODL, and Bicentenario, as well as ISA and its subsidiaries in transmission, roads, and telecommunications. The above reflects the company's commitment and alignment with the country's decarbonization goals and the Paris Agreement. I also want to highlight that in year 2022, we had several milestones in terms of defining goals in the management of water resources in our operations. Last year, we achieved a reuse of 78% of the water required to operate, which represents an increase of 6% when compared to year 2021. I also want to take this opportunity to reflect on the fact that Ecopetrol is committed to be water neutral by 2045. And this means that we will replenish at least 100% of the water consumed in our operations achieving a positive impact in each of the water basins where we operate. To this end, by 2045, we expect to eliminate discharges to surface water bodies, reduce freshwater collection by 66% or two-thirds, and offset the remaining 34%. In light with this commitment, it is that a few days ago, we announced that Ecopetrol is the first mining energy company in Latin America to verify its water footprint. This thanks to the work with EconTech, the certification of the calculation and reporting of the water footprint in four of our major facilities in the company, the Cartagena and Barranca Bermeja refineries, the production fields of La Sira in Fantas in Santander, and Castilla in Meta. Integrated water management at Ecopetrol seeks to contribute to the equitable, economically sound, and environmentally sustainable provision of water resources in an aligned manner with our Strategy 2040, Energy That Transforms, on our TSG and climate change agendas. I will now pass the floor to Jamie Baez, who will share with us the results and milestones of the Low Emission Solution Businesses line.

Thanks, Felipe. In 2022, we reach significant milestones in our portfolio of low-emissions energy solutions. Reporter Evita of the natural gas and LPG businesses for 2022 was $1,027 million, an increase of 27% compared to previous year. We also delivered a robust netback of $16.2 per equivalent barrel, increasing it by over 14% versus 2021. Ecopetrol Group is committed to maintaining a strong investment in low-carbon solutions, expanding it by 140% year-over-year. In renewable energy sources, Ecopetrol continues to make significant progress, incorporating more power capacity, reaching 208 megawatts of renewables in the energy supply mix by the end of 2022, benefiting from the competitive levelized cost of energy and the low emissions intensity, the up, mid, and downstream segments have reported accumulated cost savings of more than 22,000 million pesos and CO2 equivalent emissions reduction of about 32,000 tons. We entered 2022 with high expectations about the hydrogen agenda, and we closed out on a high note. Since we launched our strategic plan in last March, our achievements have positioned Ecopetrol as a leader for low-carbon hydrogen development in Colombia and throughout the region by the means of delivering the first proof-of-concept in the country to successfully produce green hydrogen and use it in an operational refinery. As expected, in August this test reached its final stage, allowing to capture the lessons learned and use this incorporated know-how on the development of two mega-scale projects that will be operational by the end of 2025. Each of these projects is expected to have a 60 megawatts electrolysis capacity powered by green energy sources and be able to produce 9,000 tons of hydrogen per year. Please proceed to the next slide. In sustainable mobility, Ecopetrol continues to make strategic progress. Several programs have emerged and broadened, one of which is the Fund to Promote Use of Natural Gas in Heavy-Duty Trucks, known as CANDEO, that has evolved in conjunction with Percon, the pilot in Bogota, where public transportation buses powered by green hydrogen are expected to be on the road in 2023. Ecopetrol raised awareness on the importance of innovation ecosystems and made progress with the infrastructure to produce hydrogen and refuel light vehicles that is under construction in the Caribbean Innovation and Technology Center. Also, I would like to highlight the 249 electric, hybrid, and gas vehicles that are now part of the Ecopetrol's fleet, making up 25% of our automotive park. Throughout 2022, Ecopetrol continues to focus on increasing reliability of natural gas sources. The micro-LNG project in Buenaventura completed six months of being online and has allowed us to test an efficient system that creates optionality. It achieved 100% service availability and proved a scalable and easily replicable solution. It also provided an autonomy of seven days to Buenaventura District and worked 24-7 during contingency periods experienced during the last year, thus allowing more than 45,000 families to receive uninterrupted natural gas. In addition, we were able to consolidate in 2022 an ecosystem that leverages the reduction of greenhouse gases emissions and underpins new businesses for ecopetrol. This ecosystem was strengthened with strategic alliances and platforms such as the International Gas Union, IGU, the Hydrogen Council, the International Renewable Energy Agency, and the World Energy Council, among others. As part of our ongoing effort to improve community well-being, we expanded the social gas program, connecting more than 13,000 families in the country's rural communities to the natural gas network. We reached more than 2 million final users and families of vulnerable communities with our utility company in Vercalza. And while there was a cycle of high prices, the Ecopetrol Group reduced the LPG price by 30%, benefiting more than 3 million families in Colombia. I will now give the floor to Alberto Consuegra, who will go through the main operational milestones.