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With ConocoPhillips and ExxonMobil both having exited Colombia’s fracking sector, Ecopetrol and Drummond Energy are now the clearest contenders to drill the country’s first unconventional well, while GeoPark has signaled interest without yet committing to specific blocks.

The Colombian Association of Petroleum Engineers (Acipet) laid out a formal three-proposal package for the government at its Congress on Oil, Gas and Energy in Bucaramanga.

GeoPark CEO Felipe Bayón told Acipet’s XXIII Colombian Oil, Gas, and Energy Congress in Bucaramanga that Colombia’s unconventional resources (YNC) represent a major opportunity, framing the case in terms of national self-sufficiency: “energy sovereignty is about taking control of our destiny,” he said.

Colombia is preparing a new import point for gas and other energy products in Ciénaga and Santa Marta, Magdalena.

Vice President José Manuel Restrepo announced what he called a full reversal of the state’s energy and extractive-sector policy, confirming the formal return of hydrocarbons exploration contracts and expanded critical-mineral development.

Despite Colombia’s declining proven gas reserves, the country holds resources in its subsoil and Caribbean waters capable of guaranteeing supply and continuing to expand household connections, Naturgas president Luz Stella Murgas said in an interview.

Round one of the presidential elections was in May and we have had Abelardo de la Espriella (ADLE) for a month. What can we expect from now to December?

Vanti president Rodolfo Anaya said the Sandía gas discovery, located in the Caribbean near the Sirius field, could double Colombia’s gas reserves once official reports from operators Ecopetrol and Petrobras confirm its scale — a potentially pivotal find given the country’s ongoing loss of energy self-sufficiency.

Drummond Energy is abandoning its planned regasification terminal in Ciénaga, Magdalena, to focus entirely on developing unconventional shale gas in Cesar, betting on President Abelardo De la Espriella’s fracking-friendly stance.

Colombia’s unconventional hydrocarbons (YNC) could extend national gas self-sufficiency by roughly 70 years and oil self-sufficiency by nearly 16 years, relative to 2020 production levels, according to a Corficolombiana report.