Colombian oil production has slipped into decline
Warning signs for Colombia’s upstream
The clock is ticking to prevent years of crude production decline ending the country’s ability to meet its own energy needs
Months of national protests last year dealt another blow to Colombia’s ambitions of reviving its flagging crude production. The country’s National Hydrocarbons Agency (ANH) estimates that output averaged just 736,397bl/d in 2021, down from 779,119bl/d the year before, which was already an 11-year low. “There has not been a significant increase in proven resource volume in years,” says Sofia Forestieri, an upstream analyst at consultancy Rystad Energy. “Crude resources total 1.8bn bl and, at the current rate, [Colombia] will only be able to sustain production for another five or six years.” Latin America’s third-largest oil producer reached peak production in 2013, with output at 990,000bl/d,
Also in this section
2 April 2026
Alongside a rapid continued build-out of renewables, China’s latest five-year plan stresses the value of domestic hydrocarbon production for energy security and calls for increased Russian gas imports
2 April 2026
The government is taking important steps to revive domestic production, lift investment and benefit from the geopolitical crisis even if more needs to be done in the longer term
1 April 2026
Golden Pass’s startup offers QatarEnergy a timely boost but may also force a difficult choice between honouring disrupted contracts and capitalising on soaring spot LNG prices
1 April 2026
It is not a case of if or when, but the length and magnitude of economic damage from elevated oil prices
