Ecopetrol’s board of directors voted in a universal session on May 27 to postpone the start of president Ricardo Roa Barragán’s previously approved unpaid leave, following a 30-day medical incapacity that Roa filed on May 26.
President Gustavo Petro launched a wide-ranging attack on Ecopetrol, political opponents, and business sectors in an extended post on X, centering his fire on what he described as the state oil company’s refusal to reduce its gas demand in the face of an accelerating climate crisis.
Juan Gonzalo Castaño Valderrama has resigned from Ecopetrol’s board of directors after just over three months in the role, the latest disruption to the state oil company’s already turbulent governance.
Ecopetrol set a new operational record in early May when it loaded a 500,000-barrel fuel oil cargo onto a vessel at the Puerto Bahía maritime terminal near Cartagena — double its previous maximum for a single shipment.
With a super El Niño expected to hit Colombia in the second half of 2026, Ecopetrol has outlined a two-track gas strategy: expanded import capacity and aggressive energy contracting to insulate the company from spot market volatility.
This week Ecopetrol published its financial results for the first quarter and the company received the usual criticism. We wrote briefly about our opinion – higher Brent means better results – and this long article will get deeper “under the hood”.
We thought this interesting considering the interaction of the political realm with the stock market but THIS ARTICLE SHOULD IN NO WAY BE CONSIDERED INVESTING ADVICE.
Former MinEnergia Amylkar D. Acosta M. mounts a sharp defense of Ecopetrol against what he characterizes as the Petro government’s intention to dismantle the company piecemeal, using the Ministry of Finance’s submission to Congress of an indicative plan to divest strategic assets valued at CoP$50T as his central exhibit.
Ecopetrol opened 2026 with a quarter that told two stories simultaneously: a seventh consecutive period of falling net income, and an EBITDA margin that matched the company’s best-ever historical quarters.
Ecopetrol’s bonds have staged an impressive run since March, but Wall Street analysts are now warning that the May 31 presidential election has become the single most important variable for the company’s long-term credit profile — potentially more consequential than oil prices, production volumes, or even the ongoing governance crisis at its headquarters.
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