President Abelardo de la Espriella says his government will resume new hydrocarbon contracts and appoints Joaquín Gutiérrez to lead Ecopetrol.
Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella announced Friday that his government will fully resume oil and gas exploration and the signing of new hydrocarbon contracts, including fracking, subject to environmental criteria.
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De la Espriella presented the move as a key part of his government’s energy policy, following a reduction in new oil and gas exploration contracts during the 2022-2026 administration of Gustavo Petro, who pursued a transition toward cleaner energy.
“My Government fully reopens the path to exploration and the signing of new contracts, including fracking, provided they meet, as I said during the campaign, absolutely all environmental responsibility criteria,” De la Espriella said at an event in Santa Marta, capital of the Magdalena department.
The president also called for an end to what he described as “environmental hysteria” and rejected Petro’s energy policy as a form of dependence on external energy.
“That is not energy transition, but energy dependence, which no policy of this Government will accept. In the era of the Tiger, we will have energy sovereignty,” De la Espriella said.
Text Reads: 📌 Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella announced that he has opened the door to fracking and that his government will fully reactivate exploration and the signing of new hydrocarbon contracts, with businessman Joaquín Gutiérrez leading Ecopetrol.
🔴 The president stated that he is reopening the path for exploration and new contracts—including fracking—based on environmental responsibility criteria, and called for an end to what he termed “environmental hysteria.” Gutiérrez, who has no prior experience in the sector and is a close associate of the head of state, pledged to restore the oil company to a position of glory among the world’s top firms.
What impact will the reactivation of hydrocarbon exploration have on Colombia?
The announcement coincided with the appointment of businessman Joaquín Gutiérrez as president of Ecopetrol, Colombia’s largest company.
Gutiérrez said his arrival marked “a new era” for the state-owned company and set out the goal of making Ecopetrol a renewed driver of development in Colombia.
The businessman and business administrator has no previous experience in the hydrocarbons sector. He is considered close to De la Espriella after managing his campaign during the latest elections.
Gutiérrez said Ecopetrol would pursue a new course aimed at restoring the company’s standing among the world’s leading oil producers.
“Our Government is beginning an alliance based on coordination among all actors and the pursuit of one essential objective: to deliver the greatest possible benefit to every Colombian in every corner of the country and ensure that Ecopetrol is reborn to fulfill its true mission,” Gutiérrez said.
The government has identified the expansion of hydrocarbon exploration as a priority for its energy policy, contrasting it with the previous administration’s reduction in new oil and gas exploration contracts and its push toward cleaner energy.
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