Commodities
Home›Commodities›Energy›Colombia to revive oil and gas as energy transition sh…
Colombia to revive oil and gas as energy transition shifts under new leader
Colombia’s renewable expansion under President Gustavo Petro lifted capacity from 200 MW in 2022 to over 4,300 MW by 2026, while 2025 marked the first time solar surpassed coal-fired generation.
OilPrice reports that Colombia’s energy direction is changing again, as the country moves from President Gustavo Petro’s “Just Energy Transition” approach toward renewed focus on oil and gas under newly elected President Abelardo de la Espriella.
According to OilPrice, Petro implemented a ban on signing new oil, gas and coal exploration contracts and used international funding partnerships to back clean energy projects. That strategy pushed renewable energy capacity from 200 megawatts in 2022 to over 4,300 MW by 2026.
OilPrice also notes that the solar sector gained momentum, with solar generation in Colombia officially surpassing coal-fired electricity generation for the first time in 2025. Colombia remains South America’s largest coal producer and its second-largest petroleum and liquid fuels producer, after Brazil.
OilPrice says de la Espriella pledged in an inauguration speech in Cali on Friday to revive the oil and gas sector, authorize fracking under strict standards, and restore Ecopetrol S.A. in an about-face from Petro, while still pursuing an energy transition.