Ecopetrol has temporarily suspended the contracting process for shutdown and maintenance services at its Barrancabermeja and Cartagena refineries — a procurement worth approximately US$700M — following a corruption scandal that combined an anonymous bribery complaint sent to board members in May with two internal memos from senior refinery officials demanding the process be frozen before the government handover.
Miguel Gómez Martínez, designated Finance Minister for the incoming de la Espriella administration, gave Valora Analitik his most candid assessment yet of Ecopetrol’s condition and the incoming government’s economic framework in a wide-ranging interview published July 4.
Cerro Matoso, the ferronickel producer in Córdoba owned by CoreX following South32’s exit, confirmed on July 1 that it has reduced operations by 25% due to gas supply restrictions already imposed by Canacol — a cut the company says puts hundreds of direct jobs and contracts with local suppliers and contractors at risk, along with royalty and tax flows to both the department and the national treasury.
More than one million Colombian families still rely on firewood or charcoal for cooking — among the most polluting and health-damaging combustion sources in daily domestic use — and Ecopetrol’s Gas Social program exists to close that gap one network connection at a time.
Colombia’s third LNG regasification project reached a visible construction milestone in late June when the Sociedad Portuaria Regional de Buenaventura received 30 heavy components — individual pieces weighing between 37 and 76 tonnes — destined for the regasification facility being built in Buga, Valle del Cauca.
Ecopetrol has delivered 52,300 school kits to children, youth, and teachers in 31 municipalities across nine departments, as part of the company’s Education and Sports investment line aimed at strengthening school retention and easing the back-to-school financial burden for families in the company’s areas of operation.
Ecopetrol’s ADR reached US$16.58 on June 17 — one of its highest levels of the year — having risen between US$6 and US$7 from its late-2025 range of US$9-10 as the market had been pricing in a de la Espriella victory well before the June 21 vote.
The prospective end of the US-Iran conflict and the expected reopening of the Strait of Hormuz have sent crude prices sharply lower, with Brent falling into the US$70s per barrel, levels not seen since before the outbreak of hostilities.
Ecopetrol and Germany’s development cooperation agency GIZ signed an agreement on June 19 to conduct feasibility and engineering studies for a Power-to-Liquid pilot plant at the Cartagena refinery, aimed at producing e-SAF — electronic Sustainable Aviation Fuel — from green hydrogen.
S&P Global Ratings affirmed Ecopetrol’s global issuer credit rating at BB- with a stable outlook on June 16, while also confirming the company’s stand-alone credit profile (SACP) at bb+.
2026, Hydrocarbons Colombia, All Rights Reserved.
