The discoveries made in the region in 2017 represented, at the time, some of the country’s most promising natural gas discoveries. Former president Juan Manuel Santos and Juan Carlos Echeverry, president of Ecopetrol (Colombian state-controlled petroleum company and Shell’s partner in this venture), made the announcement and labeled them the most significant gas finds in nearly three decades, with early estimates pointing to more than 3 trillion cubic feet of recoverable gas, exceeding the country’s proven reserves at the time.

However, enthusiasm faded due to logistical and economic hurdles. Transporting the gas from deep water wells to shore requires costly infrastructure, including a long-distance undersea pipeline and onshore processing facilities. Industry sources referred by the Latin-American news website Infobae pointed out that the scale of investment needed does not justify the currently confirmed volume of gas. Bureaucratic procedures and insecurity were other reasons that could have led to the decision.

Ecopetrol has confirmed in a press release in response to Shell’s decision that despite this setback, they are working on a plan to ensure the continuity of these projects without the British company’s investment. The company also confirmed it is actively seeking options to connect future production and distribution of gas to Colombia’s National Transportation System.

Adding to the realignment, Shell is also considering selling other Colombian assets, including its stake in the offshore block COL-3, co-owned with Noble Energy (now part of Chevron). While Shell will retain its fuel distribution and lubricant businesses in Colombia, the move marks a broader retreat from exploration and production operations in the country.

Shell’s departure is not an isolated case. Over the past five years, other major oil and gas companies—Chevron, Repsol, ConocoPhillips, Cepsa, and ExxonMobil—have either scaled back or exited their exploration or production operations with oil or gas in Colombia. Many of these exits were linked to regulatory uncertainty, challenges in project viability, and shifting corporate priorities toward lower-risk or more profitable regions.

Reactions have been swift. According to La República, over the last decade Colombia had an almost 50% decrease in gas production: while there were 329 contracts in 2015 that yielded a production of 5,048 million cubic feet per day, between January and February, by the same period in 2025, the number of contracts had dropped to 277, with a production of 2,608.1 million cubic feet per day; as per data from the National Hydrocarbons Agency.

“That a company as important as Shell is withdrawing from Colombia’s offshore gas activities; that foreign investment in hydrocarbons has fallen 30% in the last year; that the development of the Sirius project (the most promising ever found offshore) is subject to the absurd requirement of 116 prior consultations before its gas molecules can reach land; that domestic gas production has fallen to its lowest level in 10 years; that 130 exploratory wells were drilled in 2012, while only 27 will be drilled in 2024…. None of this is a coincidence; it is the result of a deliberate policy by the Petro administration to end the country’s gas self-sufficiency, which we Colombians have already begun to pay for with expensive imports,” Juan Camilo Restrepo, Former Deputy Finance Minister, stated on X.

However, optimism still remains for the Sirius project—an initiative led by Petrobras and Ecopetrol in the same region. Discovered in 2024, Sirius is touted as the most promising gas find in Colombia’s deepwater history, with production expected to begin in 2029. Industry analysts now view Sirius as the country’s best bet for restoring long-term energy self-sufficiency, even if its development has not been without its hurdles.

The attack, which Ecopetrol says was carried out by “groups outside of the law” at 1:30 am in the Guamalito district of El Carmen, has caused oil to spill into the surrounding area and threaten the nearby Cimitarra stream. According to the state-controlled oil company, this waterway feeds into an aqueduct that some 3,500 locals in Guamalito rely on.

The company said the process has begun to both suspend pumping oil through the 485-mile pipeline and shut off the opening of the aqueduct. Along with mobilizing specialized personnel to clean up the oil spill, local disaster risk management personnel and other authorities have also been notified of the emergency. Ecopetrol has asked those from the community to steer clear of the area to so that they are not affected by the inhalation of gases.

According to Reuters, the attack did not initially affect production at the pipeline’s main feeder site, the Caño Limón field, or oil exports. The Caño Limón oil field is operated by Occidental Petroleum Corp., a U.S. exploration and production company based in Houston.

“This is a desperate waste of resources at a time when the country needs every dollar of oil revenue possible,” said Bancolombia in a note to investors.

Though Ecopetrol did not identify the perpetrators of the attack, former presidential cabinet member and current peace negotiator Juan Camilo Restrepo said on Twitter that the attack a “senseless action of the ELN against the aqueduct of Norte de Santander.” He added that, “with terrorist attacks like this that affect non-combatant civilian populations, the ELN makes the Quito negotiations difficult.”

The ELN, or National Liberation Army, became Colombia’s largest guerrilla group after the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) demobilized and handed over its weapons to the United Nations earlier this year. The ELN has been negotiating its own peace deal with the government and Restrepo in Quito, but its members have continued to conduct acts of violence and belligerence in the ensuing months, causing some in the nation to wonder if the talks can succeed.

Ecopetrol says that this was the 31st attack already this year on Caño Limón-Coveñas, one of two primary pipelines transporting oil in Colombia. “Ecopetrol repudiates these actions that endanger people’s lives, violate international humanitarian law, and seriously affect the environment and the well-being of communities as well as the development of oil activities,” said the company in a statement.

Photo credit: Ecopetrol