News and AnalysIs for

César Pabón, director of economic research at Corficolombiana, makes the central analytical argument in this Bloomberg Línea piece: Colombia’s next president faces an unusually narrow window to reverse the damage of the Petro era’s exploration freeze, and the cost of missing it is compounding.

Parex Resources closed its acquisition of Frontera Energy’s entire Colombian exploration and production portfolio on June 1, formally vaulting itself to the position of Colombia’s largest independent oil and gas producer.

Frontera Energy Corporation closed the sale of its entire Colombian exploration and production portfolio to Parex Resources on June 1 for aggregate consideration of US$750M — comprising US$500M in upfront cash, US$225M in assumed net debt, and a US$25M contingent payment tied to a potential extension of the Quifa contract with Ecopetrol before the first anniversary of closing.

Ecopetrol’s board of directors voted in a universal session on May 27 to postpone the start of president Ricardo Roa Barragán’s previously approved unpaid leave, following a 30-day medical incapacity that Roa filed on May 26.

The expected candidates made it through to the second round and official government candidate Iván Cepeda got the approximately 40% of the vote that the polls said he would. But Abelard de la Espriella surprised by getting over 43% and coming first.

Colombia’s oil, gas and mining sector contracted for the ninth consecutive quarter in Q1 2026, but the pace of decline slowed sharply to just 0.1% — the mildest reading in more than two years, according to data published by the national statistics agency DANE and reported by Valora Analitik.