Colombia’s Ecopetrol SA discovered an offshore natural gas deposit that could potentially produce up to 800 million cubic feet of gas a day, according to Chief Executive Officer Ricardo Roa.

Colombia's state-run oil company oil Ecopetrol and Brazil's Petrobras on Thursday announced two major gas discoveries executives said would hugely increase reserves and help the Andean country remain self-sufficient for energy.

Ecopetrol discovered an offshore gas deposit that could potentially produce up to 800 million cubic feet a day.

Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) said Thursday it discovered an offshore natural gas deposit that could potentially produce as much as 800M cf/day of gas, which could meet 80% of Colombia's current demand and help the country remain self-sufficient for energy.