Colombian state oil company Ecopetrol said it will reactivate fracking-based exploration in the La Luna formation in the Middle Magdalena Valley, and that it is negotiating a ten-year contract to buy natural gas from Venezuela. The announcements came during an investor conference after the company published its third-quarter 2026 results.
Ecopetrol reported third-quarter revenue of 35.1 trillion Colombian pesos and EBITDA of 15.9 trillion. Net income attributable to shareholders reached 4.7 trillion, an increase of 85.6 percent on the same period of 2025, when profit stood at 2.6 trillion. Hydrocarbon production averaged 747,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, up 6 percent on the second quarter.
Gas from Venezuela
The initial import volume targeted for the first phase is 50 million cubic feet per day, which the company said would cover about 5 percent of national gas consumption. The gas would move through the Antonio Ricaurte binational pipeline, which has been inactive for more than a decade.
Restarting the line requires rehabilitating infrastructure and authorisation from the US Office of Foreign Assets Control, which Ecopetrol has requested. Ecopetrol will also ask Pdvsa to operate the 88-kilometre Colombian section. Environmental regulator Anla has confirmed that the environmental licence is firm.
Ecopetrol president Joaquín Gutiérrez said the gas is being negotiated at a competitive price, well below the current market price. He said the exact value, the comparative reference and the closing date remain to be specified.
Fracking and the La Luna play
A technical stage updating prospectivity and business cases is under way, with environmental, social and risk diagnostics to follow. Gutiérrez said the Middle Magdalena Valley has geological potential similar to, and in his view with greater possibilities than, Argentina’s Vaca Muerta megafield.
Gutiérrez also said any external investment would compete for capital under the same profitability criteria. Ecopetrol plans enhanced oil recovery in existing fields and alliances with partners.
Source: Ecopetrol | Data: U.S. Department of the Treasury
