Colombia’s State Oil Firm Seeks Criminal Probe of Its Own Gas Import Deal
COLOMBIA · ENERGY
Key Facts
- —The country Colombia’s own gas output is falling, so it relies more on imported liquefied gas. For now only one import terminal operates, in Cartagena on the Caribbean coast.
- —Why it matters A Pacific gas terminal near Buenaventura, the main port on that coast, is meant to ease that dependence. It is already about three months behind its original start date.
- —What happened El Tiempo reported on 27 September that Ecopetrol, the state-controlled oil company, asked prosecutors to investigate the US$172 million terminal contract. The complaint was filed on 2 September.
- —Who is involved The contract went to Puertos, Inversiones y Obras (PIO SAS) in February 2025, under former president Gustavo Petro and then Ecopetrol chief Ricardo Roa.
- —What it means for you The terminal is still expected to start around mid-November, according to El Tiempo and La República. None of the reports says the works have stopped.
- —Still open Whether prosecutors open a formal case, and whether Ecopetrol imposes delay penalties. Those who spoke to El Tiempo deny wrongdoing.
Colombia’s state-controlled oil company, Ecopetrol, has asked prosecutors to examine how its Pacific gas terminal contract was awarded. The investigative unit of the newspaper El Tiempo revealed the complaint on Sunday 27 September.
According to El Tiempo, Ecopetrol filed it with the Fiscalía, the Attorney General’s Office, on 2 September after an internal audit. La República and the Colprensa news agency carried the same account, valuing the deal at US$172 million.
What the audit is looking at
El Tiempo said the review aims to establish or rule out irregularities. It listed possible influence peddling, conflicts of interest, contract changes and penalties for delay that were never applied.
The contract was awarded in February 2025, La República reported. It covers 60 million cubic feet of gas a day for an initial five years, according to La República and El Colombiano.
Imported gas is to land at Buenaventura and be regasified at Buga, in Valle del Cauca. Only one such plant, in Cartagena, now operates, La República noted. A fault there led to nationwide gas rationing ordered after the Cartagena LNG terminal failure.
A project already running late
The terminal was due to start on 1 August 2026. El Tiempo and La República now put the start around mid-November.
El Tiempo reported that delays carry a penalty of US$200,000 a day. It said Ecopetrol has accepted only two of the 45 days that PIO argues are excused.
PIO’s owner, Óscar Isaza, told El Tiempo the delays were not his firm’s fault. He cited the war in Iran, the August earthquake that closed Buenaventura’s port for five days, and a typhoon in China.
Isaza said PIO won a competition with “the best price per million cubic feet”. Asked by El Tiempo about claims that bribes were demanded, he replied: “Nobody has ever demanded anything of me.”
The engineer under scrutiny
El Tiempo also examined Einstein Mauricio Gómez Machado, the terminal company’s delegate director since 2025. He joined the Creg, the energy and gas regulator, as a commissioner in 2012 and later advised PIO.
El Tiempo said Gómez was once the boss of Bayron Triana, an ex-Ecopetrol vice-president described as close to Roa. Gómez said he never took part in decisions on the terminal, and Triana has denied wrongdoing.
In August, El Colombiano reported a complaint alleging that an Ecopetrol board audit had found irregularities in the award. Roa separately faces an influence-peddling case over a Bogotá flat.
What Is Not Yet Known
No report quoted a public statement from Ecopetrol or the Fiscalía. It is unclear whether prosecutors have opened a formal investigation or only received the complaint.
El Tiempo said fines and arbitration could follow if PIO cannot justify the delay. No one has been charged, and those who spoke to the paper deny any irregularity.
Sources: El Tiempo, 27 Sep 2026; La República, 27 Sep 2026; Vanguardia/Colprensa, 27 Sep 2026; El Colombiano, 24 Aug 2026; La República, 10 Sep 2026.
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