Colombia's peace brings little oil dividend
Once an industry darling, the country's energy industry is still struggling with a rebel threat and local community strife
For years, Colombia's oil industry hoped that peace with its main rebel group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc), would bring new riches. During its decades of waging war on the Colombian state, Farc saw the industry as a prime target and wrought havoc on oil operations. The group regularly kidnapped oil workers, bombed pipelines, and made potentially oil-rich areas too dangerous to drill. So, when Congress finally signed off on a peace deal in November, the industry looked forward to a new era. But more than six months on there is still little sign of the promised peace dividend. Other fighting groups continue to mount attacks against the oil industry. Relations between oil
Also in this section
5 March 2026
Gas is a central pillar of Colombia’s energy system, but declining production poses a significant challenge, and LNG will be increasingly needed as a stopgap. A recent major offshore gas discovery offers hope, but policy improvements are also required, Camilo Morales, secretary general of Naturgas, the Colombian gas association, tells Petroleum Economist
4 March 2026
The continent’s inventories were already depleted before conflict erupted in the Middle East, causing prices to spike ahead of the crucial summer refilling season
4 March 2026
The US president has repeatedly promised to lower gasoline prices, but this ambition conflicts with his parallel aim to increase drilling and could be upended by his war against Iran
4 March 2026
With the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed following US-Israel strikes and Iran’s retaliatory escalation, Fujairah has become the region’s critical pressure release valve—and is now under serious threat
