Ecopetrol's executive vice president, Bayron Triana, stated that the gas tariff increase for 2026 will not affect Colombian households, but rather the industrial sector. National gas will be allocated to residences, while imported gas goes to thermal plants. The comments came during the VIII Oil, Gas and Energy Summit.
At the close of the VIII Oil, Gas and Energy Summit, representatives from business, government, and academia discussed Colombia's energy balance ahead of the government transition. Bayron Triana, Ecopetrol's executive vice president for transition energies, highlighted gas supply as the main challenge starting in 2026, amid rising import reliance.
Triana clarified that imports will not reach 20% of demand at least until May 2026, though groups like Naturgas forecast up to 50% by 2030. He stated: “We do not see, at least until May 2026, the gas import dependency equaling 20% of demand. What will happen from December 1 is that national gas goes to the residential sector and the imported gas, which raises tariffs, feeds industrial demand. Users already felt the tariff increase this year”.
Ecopetrol will begin commercializing up to 74 Gbtud of gas from December, equivalent to 25% of residential demand. This prioritizes local gas for homes and shifts imports to thermal generation plants, sparing household tariffs.
Felipe Bayón, CEO of Geopark, pointed to Colombia's potential in unconventional reservoirs like fracking, referencing Argentina's Vaca Muerta success. “In Argentina, a state policy has been managed, not government ones; that's where the success lies. We have the resources and talent to grow, but we must work together and not point fingers; that's how nothing is achieved”, Bayón said. The Argentine project yields 3.5 billion cubic feet of gas daily and contributes to a nearly US$6,000 million surplus, per ACP president Frank Pearl.
Energy Vice Minister Karen Schutt acknowledged the supply-demand gap and urged public-private collaboration. She noted that Spec regasification plant maintenance has prompted plans to cut import and regasifier reliance. The Creg also announced a pathway to ease gas supply.