The Refinería de Cartagena (Reficar) returned to normal operations by March 24, 2026, nine days after an electrical supply failure struck the facility on March 15. Ecopetrol confirmed that all processing units are operating normally and that the supply of refined fuels to the national market was maintained throughout the incident.
The decision to halt the Komodo deepwater well – a joint project between Ecopetrol and Occidental Petroleum in the Colombian Caribbean – did not merely delay an exploration campaign.
A Constitutional Court ruling issued in October 2025 — Sentence T-390-25 — has sent shockwaves through Colombia’s oil and gas sector by holding Ecopetrol and its logistics subsidiary Cenit responsible for environmental and human rights damages caused by armed group attacks on the Oleoducto Trasandino (OTA), a 300-kilometer crude oil pipeline in Nariño that has been suspended since 2023 and for which no restart date exists.
The Ministry of Mines and Energy sent a formal request to Ecopetrol president Ricardo Roa on March 4, 2026, requiring a detailed report on the volumes of natural gas consumed by the company’s refineries during 2025 and the current year to date.
Writing on X on March 22, 2026, President Gustavo Petro outlined his government’s response to the prospect of oil prices climbing to US$180/barrel by May – a scenario flagged by Saudi Arabia – placing Ecopetrol at the center of a new fertilizer subsidy mechanism while firmly closing the door on gasoline subsidies.
Gran Tierra Energy (GTE) announced on March 17, 2026 that it has signed an agreement with Ecopetrol to earn a 49% working interest in the Tisquirama block in Colombia’s Middle Magdalena Valley, which contains the Tisquirama and San Roque fields directly adjacent to Gran Tierra’s largest producing asset, Acordionero.
President Gustavo Petro spoke publicly on Ecopetrol twice in March, offering a consistent reading of the company’s deteriorating financial performance and using both opportunities to reinforce his energy transition agenda.
Ecopetrol closed 2025 with net profits of CoP$9.02T — down 39.5% and the lowest figure since 2021 — capping a third consecutive year of earnings deterioration. What can be done?
Petrobras and Ecopetrol announced on March 18, 2026 the confirmation of a new natural gas discovery in the deep waters of the Colombian Caribbean, with the drilling of the exploratory well Copoazú-1 in Block GUA-OFF-0. The companies stated that “the discovery consolidates the gas province and the hydrocarbon potential in this area, while adding a greater volume of gas to contribute to the country’s energy security.”
Three of Ecopetrol’s major labor unions have gone public with sharp criticism of both the company’s strategic direction and the continued tenure of president Ricardo Roa.
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