The Ministry of Mines and Energy has issued Resolution 40164 of 2026, a new regulatory framework governing the closure and abandonment of oil wells in Colombia that simultaneously tightens environmental safeguards and opens the door to repurposing subsurface infrastructure for clean energy applications.
The Unión Sindical Obrera (USO), Ecopetrol’s principal labor union, announced the creation of a scientific committee to evaluate the feasibility of hydraulic fracturing in Colombia — a move that placed the union in direct conflict with Energy Minister Edwin Palma, a former USO president himself, who promptly called his former colleagues mistaken.
With Colombia now a net gas importer and conventional production in sustained decline, energy sector voices are pushing hydraulic fracturing back onto the national agenda as the most credible lever for reversing the country’s hydrocarbon trajectory.
Ecopetrol has obtained water use certification for five additional production fields, bringing the total number of certified assets to 23 — a roster that includes the Barrancabermeja and Cartagena refineries.
Latin American refineries are adapting existing infrastructure to produce renewable fuels rather than constructing new facilities, with Colombia positioning itself to enter the emerging biofuels market through pilot programs and planned capacity expansion in Barrancabermeja.
Colombia’s natural gas shortage is driving an environmental reversal in the industrial sector, forcing companies to switch from cleaner fuels to more polluting alternatives. Between January 2025 and January 2026, Colombian industry substituted 38.6 Giga BTU per day of natural gas – equivalent to 16% of non-regulated industrial demand – with higher-emission fuels.
Colombia has avoided nearly 7 million tonnes of CO₂-equivalent emissions during the Petro administration through the entry into operation of clean energy projects including solar, wind, and small hydroelectric facilities, the Mines and Energy Ministry announced on World CO₂ Emissions Reduction Day.
Colombia’s industrial natural gas demand reached its lowest level in a decade during December 2025, triggering increased consumption of more polluting fuels as companies abandon gas for coal, diesel, fuel oil, and liquefied petroleum gas.
Acting Environment Minister Irene Vélez Torres led a dialogue with 40 Colombian ambassadors and diplomatic mission representatives to advance preparations for the First Conference for Transition Beyond Fossil Fuels.
Colombia’s Environment and Sustainable Development Ministry has opened a public consultation to define the roadmap for implementing the Escazú Agreement, aiming to strengthen environmental democracy and guarantee rights to information, public participation, and environmental justice.
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