Drummond Energy is abandoning its planned regasification terminal in Ciénaga, Magdalena, to focus entirely on developing unconventional shale gas in Cesar, betting on President Abelardo De la Espriella’s fracking-friendly stance.
Colombia’s unconventional hydrocarbons (YNC) could extend national gas self-sufficiency by roughly 70 years and oil self-sufficiency by nearly 16 years, relative to 2020 production levels, according to a Corficolombiana report.
Ecopetrol’s Barranquilla and Cartagena refineries strengthened their fuel and petrochemical output in the first half of 2026, with total refining throughput averaging 428,000 bd, up 5.9% (24,000 bd) year-on-year.
Colombia’s electricity demand is projected to grow roughly 10% between 2026 and 2030, according to UPME estimates cited at Andeg’s 13th Energy Forum, straining both generation supply and the transmission network.
Following a meeting with the Colombian Natural Gas Association (Naturgas), Minister of Environment Fabio Arjona endorsed natural gas as a fundamental fuel for Colombia’s energy transition, framing it as compatible with energy security, emissions reduction, and territorial protection.
The De la Espriella government is expected to call an Extraordinary Shareholders’ Assembly for Ecopetrol in late September, aimed at advancing changes to the company’s board of directors.
President Abelardo De la Espriella ordered the Armed Forces and National Police to launch a joint operation against hydrocarbons theft, coordinated with Ecopetrol, the Fiscalía, and other authorities “to comprehensively attack this criminal economy.”
President Abelardo De la Espriella’s arrival has revived hopes of restoring Colombia’s natural gas self-sufficiency through unconventional reservoir development, with industry experts pointing to substantial potential across eight basins beyond the long-discussed Middle Magdalena Valley, following more than 15 years of regulatory and environmental debate.
Electricity market controller XM’s interim general manager Juan Carlos Morales was direct about what backing up Colombia’s hydro-dependent grid through El Niño will require: ‘we’re going to need coal and gas, as well as liquid fuels… the entire generation chain of the system will be called upon.’
Colombia’s liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) user base grew from 59,000 to more than 372,000 between 2015 and 2025 — an increase of over 300,000 — with roughly 95% of those users belonging to strata 1 and 2.
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