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My Favorite Emerging-Market ‘Power’ Player Is … [Colombia Oil & Gas Summit 2012]

This week, thousands of energy industry executives from the Americas met in Colombia for its Oil and Gas Summit to discuss the state of the industry there and the unusual investment opportunity the country represents.

Many of these global players have been eyeing this country’s energy sector long before this week … and for good reason.

Colombia has attracted the attention of small-and medium-sized energy companies as well as the industry’s major international players like Brazil’s state-run energy giant Petrobras (PBR), Spain’s Repsol (REPYY.PK) — which has significant Latin American presence, particularly in Argentina — and many others.

With so many key emerging-market companies attracted to this area, as an investor you may want to follow suit. So today we’ll zero in on several of those companies as they start to gain a foothold, and you’ll discover which ones might be the potential investment winners of tomorrow.

First, let’s take a look at what makes Colombia so attractive to energy companies from all over the world.

1. The economic environment in Colombia is positive.

Colombia is a free-market economy with major commercial and investment ties to the United States. Its transition from a highly regulated economy has been under way for more than 15 years.

The country’s average annual economic growth rate was more than 5% from 2002 to 2007. And it is clearly on an upward path for 2012, with the International Monetary Fund forecasting an annual growth rate of 4%-5%.

This figure is down from the most recently reported 7.7% for the third quarter of 2011. But just last week, U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman reportedly said that Colombia has the potential to become South America’s second-largest economy (after Brazil). So annual growth may be down by a couple of percentage points, but it’s still strong … and getting stronger..........................