Colombia's Oil and Gas Reserves Keep Shrinking

AI Summary

Colombia’s oil and gas reserves continue to decline due to weak prices, increased geopolitical risks, and anti-petroleum reforms under President Gustavo Petro. This is causing decreased investments and operational slowdown in the country's vital oil sector.

For a decade, Colombia's economically vital oil industry has been caught in a death spiral. A combination of sharply weaker oil prices, rising geopolitical risk and anti-petroleum industry reforms implemented by Colombia's first leftist president Gustavo Petro deterred investment, causing the operational tempo to decline. The main issue weighing heavily on the oil patch's outlook is a dire lack of proven petroleum reserves. These are the result of a lack of spending on wildcat drilling and a poor exploration success rate. After a lengthy delay,…