The Contraloría General issued warnings after analyzing 2024 data from the Agencia Nacional de Hidrocarburos showing natural gas reserves fell 13% year-over-year. New discoveries added only 3 million barrels of oil in 2024, representing a replacement rate of just 1 barrel for every 100 extracted. Gas discoveries totaled 37 gigapies cúbicos against annual production of 351 gigapies cúbicos, a 1-to-10 replacement ratio. Gas production declined 7.8% in 2023, with further decreases expected in 2024 oil output.
The Colombian petroleum sector generated 32.4% of total exports in 2022, with oil rents comprising 3.4% of GDP and coal rents 0.7% in 2021. The Asociación Colombiana de Petróleo y Gas estimates fiscal losses of 18 trillion pesos for 2022-2026, rising to 104 trillion pesos by 2032. State-controlled Ecopetrol accounts for 60% of the sector. Former CEO Felipe Bayón warned that energy transitions require decades of gradual implementation, noting Ecopetrol represents 10% of Colombia’s budget through dividends, royalties and taxes.
The administration’s promised Hoja de Ruta de la Transición Energética Justa has been delayed nearly a year. Colombia’s energy consumption remains 74% dependent on hydrocarbons while renewable sources provide 25%, primarily hydroelectric. The country currently produces 760,000 barrels daily against domestic consumption of 328,000 barrels, though gas consumption already exceeds production by 21.5%. Internal government disagreements between the Finance Ministry and Mines and Energy Ministry have characterized policy implementation.
In March 2026, the government imposed a new wealth tax on companies with liquid assets exceeding 200,000 UVT, targeting 6.3 trillion pesos in revenue. The tax applies a 1.6% rate to oil and financial sector companies versus 0.5% for other industries.
This article was curated and published as part of our South American energy market coverage.
