Colombia's Energy Industry

Colombia: diverse energies on the rise

Colombia is Latin America’s third-largest oil producer after Brazil and Mexico, and it exports a significant share of its crude production. The sector is overseen by the National Hydrocarbons Agency (ANH), which manages the allocation of exploration and production areas, administers contracts and implements state hydrocarbons policy.

With reserves under pressure, Colombia’s long-term upstream challenge is to sustain exploration success while bringing new resources to market. In recent years, the ANH has promoted competitive allocation processes and a framework aimed at maintaining investment in exploration, including targets set out under the Plan 2040 roadmap. Much of Colombia’s remaining potential lies in technically complex areas, including offshore prospects and frontier basins, where improved seismic imaging, drilling techniques and project execution have made exploration more viable than in the past.

Energy transition policy has become increasingly central under the current administration, with a focus on accelerating renewables and reducing dependence on oil revenues over time. Colombia’s national climate strategy is anchored in its emissions-reduction commitments for 2030 and a net-zero pathway by 2050, while the government is also seeking to expand the role of wind and solar and attract both domestic and international investment into clean energy. La Guajira remains the country’s most prominent renewables frontier due to its exceptional wind resource and strong solar potential, although project delivery continues to depend on grid expansion, permitting and social licence.

Colombia’s refining system is dominated by two Ecopetrol-operated refineries: the Cartagena Refinery and the Barrancabermeja Refinery, which together account for the vast majority of national capacity. These assets underpin domestic fuel supply and have been the focus of upgrades to improve efficiency and product quality.

On the midstream side, infrastructure constraints continue to shape investment priorities. Pipeline capacity is limited in several corridors, and security and permitting challenges can disrupt operations and delay project development. As a result, there is ongoing demand for investment in transportation, logistics and network expansion to support both existing production and any future upstream growth.