Thursday, October 1st, 2026
With ConocoPhillips and ExxonMobil both having exited Colombia’s fracking sector, Ecopetrol and Drummond Energy are now the clearest contenders to drill the country’s first unconventional well, while GeoPark has signaled interest without yet committing to specific blocks.
Investors are taking a cautious, wait-and-see stance on Joaquín Gutiérrez’s appointment as Ecopetrol’s new CEO, a notably cooler reception than the government’s own confidence in the pick.
Colombia’s National Hydrocarbons Agency (ANH) used the XXIII ACIPET Petroleum, Gas and Energy Congress in Bucaramanga to lay out both the scale of the country’s exploration slowdown and its plan to reverse it.
Colombia’s National Hydrocarbons Agency (ANH) convened operators on September 15th to review progress and challenges in implementing the telemetry mandate set out in Resolution 0651 of August 2025.
Vice Minister of Energy Armando Cuello said the government has not ruled out eventually raising diesel prices, arguing the current subsidy is unsustainable.
Colombia declared programmed natural gas rationing this week for industrial customers, requiring an explanation of both the mechanical trigger and the broader supply fragility it exposes.
Colombia’s mining and energy sector has gone from generating 36.2% of corporate income tax revenue in 2012 to just 6.3% in 2025, a collapse that ANIF and the Colombian Energy Roundtable (CREE) warn is both a fiscal and an energy-security problem.
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