News and AnalysIs for

Colombia’s National Hydrocarbon Agency reported collecting CoP$29.6T in royalties between August 2022 and December 2025, demonstrating strong fiscal performance despite challenges in the sector.

Martín Ravelo, who assumed the presidency of the Unión Sindical Obrera (USO) one month ago, outlined the union’s defense of Colombia’s oil and gas industry and its concerns about the government’s energy transition approach in an interview addressing fracking, Ecopetrol’s challenges, and political developments.

The Colombian Association of Geologists is developing legislation to integrate geological expertise into energy policy and territorial development planning, aiming to protect the environment while guaranteeing energy security.

Colombian economic think tank ANIF warned that hourly labor costs will surge 34.7% over approximately one year, rising from CoP$7,736 in the first half of 2025 to CoP$10,422 by the second half of 2026.

Colombia’s foreign direct investment (FDI) totaled US$11.469B in 2025, representing a 16.1% decline from US$13.684B in 2024 and marking a 33.2% cumulative drop since the 2022 peak of US$17.182B.

Ecopetrol generated 87,130 jobs through contractor companies during 2025 while increasing its procurement spending to CoP$23.8T, representing a 4.8% rise from the previous year’s CoP$22.7T according to reports from El Tiempo and La República.

Colombia’s national government announced the appointment of electrical engineer Víctor Paternina as Vice Minister of Energy, bringing over 18 years of energy sector experience. The Sincelejo native, educated at Universidad del Norte with an MBA from Universidad de los Andes, previously served as Energy Director where he structured energy communities and led Colombia Solar public policy definition—key pillars of the just energy transition with territorial and social focus.

Colombia’s petroleum and gas sector voiced strong opposition to the wealth tax imposed under the government’s emergency decrees, warning the measure threatens investment capacity and creates discriminatory tax treatment while failing to account for the industry’s long-term investment cycles.

Colombia’s biofuels sector confronts sharply divergent narratives between government policy and industry survival, as President Gustavo Petro defends forced investment reforms while the sugarcane sector warns of imminent operational collapse from excessive imports threatening hundreds of thousands of jobs.

Next Sunday, March 8^th, Colombians go to the polls for two separate but related purposes. Roughly half will vote in one of three primary elections for the right (excluding the leading candidate), the left (excluding the leading candidate) and the not-so-left. Perhaps the more important votes will be for Senate and Congress although these get less press coverage.