BOGOTA, April 16 (Reuters) - Colombia's state-owned oil company Ecopetrol said on Wednesday it has received authorization from the nation's finance ministry to issue up to $2 billion in corporate bonds through 2016.

Colombia's biggest oil company plans to spend $10.6 billion in 2014, two thirds of which will be in exploration to raise the country's low reserves, and production.

The company's long term investment plan foresees spending $75 billion through 2020 to roughly double output to 1.3 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (boed). ID:nL2N0IT17O

The company said in a statement that some further steps needed to be completed with the finance ministry before it proceeds to sell new debt.

Colombia's government bonds were given a boost last month when J.P. Morgan announced it would raise their weighting in two of its indexes, causing a surge in foreign investment into the financial sector that has strengthened the peso. ID:nL2N0N315S

(Writing by Peter Murphy; Editing by Bernadette Baum)

((Peter.Murphy@thomsonreuters.com)(+57 1 634 4133)(Reuters Messaging: peter.murphy.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))

Keywords: ECOPETROL BONDS/