
Tuesday, February 3rd, 2026
Ecuador confirmed a 900% increase in crude transport tariffs through the Sistema de Oleoducto Transecuatoriano (SOTE), raising rates from US$3 to US$30 per barrel effective January 23, 2026.



Geopark announced a transformational acquisition of Frontera Energy’s entire Colombian exploration and production portfolio for US$375M cash at closing plus US$25M contingent upon achieving development milestones.
Colombia’s Constitutional Court suspended President Gustavo Petro’s economic emergency decree, halting multiple tax measures that would have significantly impacted the petroleum and mining sectors.
Mónica de Greiff, former president of Ecopetrol’s Board of Directors, explained in an extensive Revista Semana interview the circumstances surrounding her October 2025 resignation after initially attempting to resign in May 2025.
The US Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued General License 46 on January 29, authorizing established US entities to engage in Venezuelan oil sector activities including “lifting, exportation, reexportation, sale, resale, supply, storage, marketing, purchase, delivery, or transportation of Venezuelan-origin oil, including the refining of such oil,” subject to strict conditions.
For reasons that should be obvious, this quarter’s big topic of discussion (already) is the fate of Venezuela and what it means for the global oil and gas sector – and Colombia’s industry in particular. A (virtual) panel discussion at Colombo-Canadian Chamber of Commerce (CCCC) shed much light on the topic with much heat (passion) as well.
Fitch Ratings’ ‘neutral’ 2026 outlook for the global Oil & Gas sector reflects its assumption that the Brent oil price will average about USD63/barrel, down from USD69/barrel in 2025, with geopolitical risks supporting prices while large oversupply constrains them, Fitch says in a report published today (December 12, 2205).