Both offers were higher than the $965 million minimum set by the government. EEB, which is also state-owned, will finance its purchase with $1.5 billion in international credit, Astrid Martinez, the company's chief executive, said in a news conference. EEB will float part of Ecogas on the local stock market within a year, she said. As part of a system upgrade, EEB wants to increase the capacity of Ecogas' pipeline that transports gas from the Cusiana field along the eastern border with Venezuela. Cusiana is operated by BP in association with state-owned oil company Ecopetrol and France's Total. The City of Bogota owns 81% of EEB, while Spain's Endesa, Ecopetrol, and the company's employees own the remainder.