OREANDA-NEWS. Ecopetrol S.A. (BVC: ECOPETROL; NYSE: EC; TSX: ECP) reports that the competent authorities in Indonesia, South Korea, the United States, and Colombia granted four new patents to Ecopetrol for inventions.

In Indonesia (Asia), the Directorate General of Intellectual Property Rights issued a patent for the "Process to obtain solid paraffinic compounds by hydrotreating vegetable oils," a procedure that permits obtaining food-grade paraffin wax from oils such as palm oil. The process, already patented in Colombia, generates a high-value raw material that is used, among other things, for waxed paper and the cosmetic industry due to the fact that its composition is similar to that of natural waxes such as beeswax.

The technology "Vanadium Trap for the catalytic cracking and its preparation" already patented in Colombia according to Resolution 49895 by the Superintendence of Industry and Commerce on August 24, 2012, received recognition from the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO), the competent body in South Korea. The additive optimizes the performance and yield of units where key fuels are produced such as diesel and gasoline. Patents have already been issued for this technology in the United States and China.

Moreover, the ECO-HOLE HUNTER®, a "Smart tool for the detection of

perforations and the interpretation of online data," which, as its name indicates, finds defects in pipes and determines whether or not they represent a perforation, received protection from the United States Patent and Trademark Office, USPTO. This development forms a part of the strategy against fuel theft, and is currently patented in Colombia and Mexico.

Lastly, the Colombian Superintendence of Industry and Commerce granted a patent for the "Process for viscosity reduction for heavy crude oil and its transportation via pipeline using unconventional diluents," thanks to which it is possible to improve the pipeline mobility of heavy and extra heavy crude oils over long distances. This solution permits a reduction in imports of conventional diluent and an increase in the value of the available resources.

All of the patents are for 20 years. Ecopetrol holds 63 patents recognizing the industrial ownership of its developments, 10 of which have been received in the year 2014 to date.