At the close of the first half of 2025, Colombia’s oil and gas sector continues to show alarming signs of weakening, according to the latest Semáforo de la Economía (Economic Traffic Light).
The Colombian Ministry of Mines and Energy (MinEnergia) released a draft resolution for public comment that aims to update the rules for distributing production incentives for non-renewable natural resources and their transportation via maritime and river routes.
Having spent most, perhaps all, of my working life involved in strategic planning in one capacity or other, I always start to think about next year as soon as the calendar turns over from the second quarter into the third. Not perhaps a fully formed vision of the coming years but some scenarios to define the space of possibilities.
Colombia’s oil reserves are running low. According to the latest figures from the Ministry of Mines and Energy, the country has only 7.2 years of proven oil reserves left, a notable decline from the 8.4 years reported when President Gustavo Petro took office in 2022.
During a recent visit to Venezuela, Colombia’s Minister of Mines and Energy (MinEnergia), Edwin Palma, expressed the country’s keen interest in acquiring Monómeros, the petrochemical company based in Barranquilla but owned by Venezuela’s Pequiven.
Colombia is facing a worrying decline in its exports to the U.S. and China, largely driven by sharp reductions in oil and coal sales.
A dispute between Colombia’s state oil company, Ecopetrol (NYSE: EC), and the National Tax and Customs Directorate (DIAN) escalated over the payment of a 19% Value Added Tax (VAT) on fuel imports made between 2022 and 2024.
Colombia’s next president will inherit a daunting array of simultaneous crises, according to Luis Fernando Mejía, Director of Fedesarrollo.
Over the past three years, Colombia has taken deliberate steps to reduce its reliance on oil and coal, its top two export commodities.
As energy and infrastructure projects across Colombia await environmental licenses, Alfred Ballesteros, Director of the Corporación Autónoma Regional de Cundinamarca (CAR), said the blame often lies not with government red tape, but with the “stubbornness of companies” failing to meet environmental requirements.
2025, Hydrocarbons Colombia, All Rights Reserved.
