Colombia’s Oil Slide Meets A Security Shock And A Search For New Drilling

Key Points

1. Oil output averaged 746,600 bpd in January–October 2025 (down 3.8%); marketed gas fell 16.6% to 807.5 million cubic feet per day.
2. Oil and fuel exports totaled $10.595 billion (down 16.5%); hydrocarbon royalties fell 15.7% to COP 5.2 trillion through September.
3. Rigs increased in November, but weaker development drilling and near-zero seismic work point to tougher reserve replacement in 2026.

Colombia is producing less oil and selling less gas, and the strain is showing up in exports, budgets, and investor confidence.

Between January and October, monitored crude production averaged 746,600 barrels per day, 3.8% lower than a year earlier. October slipped to 736,300 bpd.

The setback came from Meta, where output fell from 438,200 bpd to 421,000 bpd as Akacías dropped 28.6% (8,200 bpd) and Rubiales fell 5.4% (5,400 bpd).

Campetrol also pointed to blockades and mobility disruptions in Meta and Santander that interfered with normal operations, including at La Cira-Infantas.

Gas is weakening faster. Marketed natural gas averaged 807.5 million cubic feet per day in January–October, down 16.6% (161.1 million lower). October gas sales were 798 million cubic feet per day.

Exports of oil and derivatives totaled $10.595 billion in January–October, down 16.5%. In October, export value fell to $957 million, while crude export volume was 435,000 bpd—about 59% of October output.

Colombia Oil Sector Slows As Risks Rise

The hydrocarbons sector’s GDP (extraction plus refining) slipped 0.3% in the third quarter as extraction fell 3.7% even with refining up 7.3%.

Public revenue is tightening too. Hydrocarbon royalties reached COP 5.2 trillion through September, down 15.7%, with Meta, Casanare, Santander, Arauca and Huila providing 82.2% of the total; oil accounted for 85.5% of value.

Security risks add drag. Campetrol recorded 25 pipeline bombings from January to August, up 92% from a year earlier, concentrated in Arauca.

Drilling activity improved in November, with 30 drilling rigs (including one offshore) and 81 workover rigs, for a total of 111. However, the forward pipeline looks thin. A total of 234 development wells were drilled in the first half of the year, down 12.0%.

Seismic acquisition stalled, hitting zero in October and falling 73.7% over January–October. That is why 2026 is starting to look like a fight to hold the line.