{
  "id": 9950907,
  "title": "Ecopetrol Fracking Return and Offshore Push as Colombia Reserves Fall",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/26/ecopetrol-fracking-return-and-offshore-push-as-colombia-reserves-fall",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-09-26T08:30:36.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Rio Times",
    "slug": "the-rio-times",
    "url": "https://www.riotimesonline.com/ecopetrol-fracking-offshore-colombia-reserves-2026/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Colombia's state oil company Ecopetrol announced plans to increase its oil and gas exploration, despite the country's oil reserves lasting only 7.4 years and gas reserves lasting 5.9 years. This announcement comes as the previous government had previously refused to allow fracking, a method Joaquin Gutierrez, the new Ecopetrol president, stated he would implement responsibly. Ecopetrol will continue exploration in the Caribbean, focusing on the Sirius gas discovery, which could triple the country's natural gas reserves. However, production is declining, with Ecopetrol pumping 705,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, its lowest level in four years. The new president, who took office on September 24, 2026, also announced the company's intention to reopen exploration contracts, including fracking, and to establish a second headquarters in Barranquilla, on the Caribbean coast.",
  "summary": "Ecopetrol's new president says Colombia has 7.4 years of oil reserves and 5.9 years of gas, and is taking the company back into fracking and offshore drilling. The post Ecopetrol Fracking Return and Offshore Push as Colombia Reserves Fall appeared first on The Rio Times .",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}