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.

According to the current Minister of Mines and Energy, Andrés Camacho Morales, “it is a discovery that the country hasn’t seen in 45 years; it’s a historic find, and it will mean a significant backup reserve for the country.”

The well is located in the Tayrona Block, approximately 31km off the coast, and will be operated by Petrobras, which holds a 44.44% stake, while Ecopetrol owns 55.56% of the project.

According to the Presidency of the Republic of Colombia, Petrobras’ initial estimates indicate that production from the Sirius well will begin between 2029 and 2030 with four production wells and an expected output of 13.3 million cubic meters per day over ten years. In the second stage, which would start in 2031, one or two production wells would be added, with a production rate of 15 million cubic meters per day.

An important reserve, but it does not solve gas problems

In September of this year, Colombia’s nine most important energy associations called for measures to be adopted to ensure that the country does not run out of energy in the next two years. In this statement, the associations highlighted the following:

Situation in the Electric Sector

• According to experts in the sector and the Mining and Energy Planning Unit (UPME) itself, by 2026 there would not be enough firm energy supply to cover the entire demand, and from December 2028, if El Niño or droughts occur, there would be energy rationing.
• According to a report by XM, reservoirs reached critical levels in April (below 30%), and there is a risk of hydroelectric energy shortages between December 2024 and January 2025.
• As of today, the system’s usable reservoir level, according to XM, is at 50.19%, a figure below historical averages for this period and 1.1 percentage points below the shortage path.
• Regulatory uncertainty, slow project rollouts, and growing energy consumption demand immediate actions to avoid future energy crises.

Situation in the Gas Sector

• Natural gas is a key contributor to the quality of life for Colombians, with 36 million Colombians having natural gas in their homes today, 84% of whom are families from social strata 1, 2, and 3 (low-to moderate income households).
• Natural gas vehicles (NGV) not only reduce pollutant gas emissions but also lower costs for the transport sector: 87,000 taxi drivers and 1,400 transport operators switched to NGV, as well as public mass transit systems that run on this energy source (100% of the fleet in Cartagena and Valledupar and 30% of the SITP-public feeder buses-in Bogotá). These users depend on the availability of natural gas in their daily lives.
• The most widely used energy source by industries is natural gas, representing 32% of the total energy used by this sector. It is essential in the production of food, glass, oxygen, cement, paper, fats, chemicals, salt, packaging, ceramics, appliances, and more. The lack of natural gas will lead many industries to revert to consuming higher-emission fuels, to plant closures like those producing fertilizers—strategic for the country’s food security—or to the elimination of high-value-added product lines, resulting in employment and inflation consequences.
• The electricity market operator XM identified a significant need for thermal generation, especially natural gas, due to low hydroelectric potential in its latest analysis of the energy landscape.

In a recent statement made by Ecopetrol, the company reached the Cenit-Promigas agreement to ensure gas supply in Colombia.

Above photo: Gas well Orca Norte -1. provided by Ecopetrol