Can Colombia’s New Government Reverse the Nation’s Oil and Gas Decline? Can Colombia’s New Government Reverse the Nation’s Oil and Gas Decline? Oilprice.com Matthew Smith Sat, July 11, 2026 at 10:00 AM PDT 5 min read CL=F In a closely contested presidential election in Colombia, controversial far-right candidate Abelardo de la Espriella emerged victorious. After an official recount, his opponent, left-wing senator Ivan Cepeda, conceded defeat. This was a hard-fought campaign which split the community, sparking much controversy across Colombia. While debate rages over De la Espriella's policies and ascension to power, it is clear his presidency will be a godsend for Colombia's beaten-down, economically critical oil industry . More from Yahoo Scout Why is Colombia's growing LNG import dependency economically problematic? How will De la Espriella's policies impact Colombia's oil industry? What caused Colombia's recent energy crisis and production decline? What are the conditions for Colombia's planned fracking operations? After the closest election in Colombia's modern history, president-elect De la Espriella emerged victorious after a recount with a narrow margin of less than one percent. Considerable controversy surrounds his victory despite left-wing contender Ivan Cepeda conceding defeat after the recount by Colombia's electoral authority, the National Electoral Council (CNE). There are fears that De la Espriella will clamp down on law and order in such a radical manner that it will lead to widespread human rights violations and crimes. Central to the president-elect's platform is his plan to revive Colombia's fiscally strained economy and achieve annual gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 7% . To pursue that goal, he is supported by Vice President José Manuel Restrepo Abondano, who served as Colombia's Minister of Finance and Public Credit from May 2021 to August 2022 under President Iván Duque. Alongside fiscal austerity aimed at bringing Colombia's ballooning fiscal deficit, expected to reach 7 to 8% of GDP , under control, De la Espriella plans to revive the economically vital oil industry. A key factor behind Colombia's recent economic malaise is the collapse of the once-dominant hydrocarbon sector. Indeed, over the last decade, oil and natural gas production has declined sharply, sparking fears of an energy crisis, especially with costly liquified natural gas (LNG) imports spiraling ever higher. By April 2026, oil output of 724,910 barrels per day is well below the 915,087 barrels per day lifted for the same month 10 years earlier. Falling production and limited refining capacity are forcing Colombia to import considerably more diesel, mainly for agriculture and transport. The marked drop in natural gas production poses a dire threat to the economy and the electricity grid. In April 2026, Colombia lifted 694 million cubic feet of natural gas per day, which is close to a multidecade low. It is also significantly less than the 1 billion cubic feet per day produced for the same period a month earlier. The widening supply gap between domestic demand and production forced Bogota, during December 2016, to start importing liquefied natural gas (LNG). Story Continues Growing dependence on costly natural...
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