Colombia has reached its longtime goal of producing one million barrels a day of crude oil, President Juan Manuel Santos said Sunday, as the oil sector continues to expand amid record-setting investment from foreign companies.

Colombia is South America 's third-largest crude oil producer and has nearly doubled its output over the past six years. A decline in violence related to its guerrilla war permitted local and foreign firms to expand exploration and production to far-flung regions once deemed too risky.

Through the first 11 months of this year, production is averaging 941,000 barrels a day, and November set a monthly record for the highest daily average, at 971,000 barrels a day.

Despite briefly reaching the one-million mark on a particular day, Colombia conservatively projects its output average next year will be about 980,000 barrels a day.

The government initially said it expected to reach one million barrels a day of oil production more than a year ago, but a temporary resurgence of attacks on oil pipelines and other infrastructure set production levels back.

However, Colombia 's government recently launched peace talks with the country's main rebel group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, which resulted in a sharp decline in attacks, allowing oil production levels to rise again.

Mr. Santos's announcement about reaching the one-million mark was made on the Twitter account of the President's Office. Oil is Colombia 's main export and its top source of foreign revenue.

While the rising production generally has allowed Colombia 's economy to thrive in recent years, it also has brought with it some problems. The massive levels of foreign investment, for example, has flooded the country with dollars, causing its local peso currency to surge. This, in turn, has made it difficult for Colombian exporters of more-traditional products such as coffee and bananas to compete in global markets.

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