Colombia's state oil company faces a critical reserve shortage, with just 7.4 years of oil and 5.9 years of gas remaining, prompting incoming Ecopetrol president Joaquin Gutierrez Caballero to announce the resumption of fracking operations alongside offshore exploration.
Gutierrez Caballero, who managed President Abelardo de la Espriella's election campaign and has no background in oil, said Ecopetrol would move ahead with conventional and unconventional projects. He characterized the company's situation as a moment of crisis, adding there was no room for half measures. The company will apply what he called responsible fracking while continuing offshore development.
Production Decline and Offshore Investments
Ecopetrol pumped 705,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day between April and June, its weakest quarter in four years. The production slump underscores the urgency facing the company as it confronts dwindling reserves and mounting pressure to maintain output.
The company's deepwater gas find, Sirius, located 77 kilometres off Santa Marta, holds more than six trillion cubic feet of gas. Production is planned for the end of 2029 with about US$2.9 billion set aside for the work. That's three years and three months from now.
Permian Basin Dilemma
Ecopetrol holds a position in the Permian Basin of Texas, where output fell to 80,800 barrels a day in the second quarter from a peak of 115,000 in 2025. President Gustavo Petro asked Ecopetrol in February 2025 to sell its American fracking assets, a request made one year and seven months ago that reflects the administration's political stance on unconventional extraction.
The previous government had blocked a much larger deal in the same basin, valued at about US$3.6 billion. Two board members resigned over that decision, highlighting the internal tensions surrounding the company's strategic direction and political interference in commercial operations.
Fracking Projects Restart After Court Battles
Ecopetrol's two fracking pilot projects, Kale and Platero, near Puerto Wilches on the Magdalena River, were suspended in 2022 after a court order and a request from Ecopetrol itself. That suspension came four years ago. The Constitutional Court ruled in 2024 that the pilot projects breached community rights, a decision made two years ago that further complicated the company's development plans.
The company announced a second Ecopetrol headquarters in Barranquilla, on the Caribbean coast, as part of its operational restructuring.
Why This Matters:
Colombia's energy security hangs in the balance as proven reserves approach exhaustion within a decade. The incoming leadership's decision to resume fracking represents a pragmatic recognition that ideology can't replace barrels when reserves run dry. With production at four-year lows and offshore projects still years away from delivery, the company faces a stark choice between developing domestic unconventional resources or accepting import dependency. The political pressure to divest profitable Permian assets while simultaneously confronting a domestic supply crisis reveals the tension between ideological opposition to fracking and fiscal reality. For a state-owned company that contributes substantially to government revenues, production declines translate directly into budget pressures. The appointment of a political operative with no oil experience to lead the company during this critical juncture raises questions about whether commercial imperatives or political considerations will guide decision-making at a moment when Colombia can least afford energy policy mistakes.