At six in the morning, the town is already awake. There is water running in the houses, the school opens on time, and in the park, two new businesses sell breakfasts to those going to their shifts. It is not an exceptional scene; it is the day-to-day life of the municipalities where the oil, gas, and wholesale liquid fuel distribution industry operates.
Energy generates well-being
In the territories, the benefits of the hydrocarbon sector transcend national statistics and aggregated economic analyses; they are measured and materialized in concrete and verifiable improvements in community well-being: previously nonexistent public service infrastructure, formal job connections that dignify families and provide opportunities for project development with a future perspective.
Over the years, coordinated work between local authorities, communities, and companies has contributed to many territories advancing in services that once seemed a luxury. In several municipalities, thanks to these alliances, the aqueduct now operates twenty-four hours, the sewage system is expanding, the lighting is maintained, the roads are improved, and public spaces become meeting places. More than concrete works, they are capacities in social infrastructure that remain in the territory.
“With resources from taxes and direct royalties, we managed to transform Villagarzón into what it is today: a beautiful, friendly, welcoming municipality that has twenty-four-hour aqueduct service, sewage, garbage collection, good roads, parks, schools, and bridges,” summarizes Luis Eduardo García, mayor of Villagarzón, Putumayo.
The Territorial Development Monitor (2024 update) shows that oil and gas producing municipalities achieve a net education coverage of 91.31%, above the national average of 86.91%.
They also present better rates of sewage and sanitation coverage, higher than the national average. In category 6 municipalities, these coverages are up to 10 percentage points higher than in similar territories where the sector is not present.
Formal employment: the gateway to new opportunities
Transformation also occurs in households, where stable employment changes the way families live and plan their future. Beyond a salary, it represents the possibility of studying, improving housing, or starting a business without the fear of losing income. When work comes with social protection, life reorganizes, and decisions begin to be made with a broader horizon. In many municipalities, this shift from informality to formal employment has meant the difference between surviving and being able to project oneself.
“My mom's job at the oil company allowed us to pay for my university; today I am finishing Law and will have a better future,” says Diana García, a young woman from Portogaitán.
In the municipalities where technical training programs, specialized training, and continuous education are implemented —which transcend the exclusive needs of the sector—, job inclusion opportunities for women and youth are generated, transforming employment into an effective mechanism for upward social mobility and a determining factor that substantially modifies the life trajectories of numerous families.
The municipalities with the highest oil production present a transition rate to higher education of 35%, higher than the 30% which is the national average.
Source: Territorial Development Monitor (2024)
Productive linkages that energize local economies
This boost is also reflected in the economy that is woven around operations, in regions where the industry has taken root and become part of local life. The presence of the sector has driven the consolidation of companies that provide goods and services to the operation: workshops, metalworking, transportation, maintenance, food, and logistics, among others. Many were born to meet the needs of the sector's projects, and today they remain active within the value chain.
Some have also benefited from business strengthening programs that, along with the experience and standards acquired in their work with the industry, have allowed them to consolidate and expand into other markets and regions of the country.
“We started working with oil companies and learned from their requirements, we strengthened ourselves as entrepreneurs and that opened doors for us to offer our services to other industries. Today, in addition to participating in hydrocarbon sector processes, we are working with rice and palm companies,” says a businessman from Villanueva, Casanare.
The development of a territory is tangibly evidenced in indicators such as quality employment, robust social infrastructure, comprehensive coverage of public services, and the articulation of productive chains. In the territories where the industry operates, the infrastructure, connectivity, and capacities that have been consolidated have opened space for new activities: agro-industry, commerce, services, and tourism.
In category 6 municipalities with oil or gas operations, the average collection of Industry and Commerce Tax (ICA) doubles that of municipalities of the same category without production. This behavior evidences a more active and formalized economic fabric. (Territorial development monitor, 2024) According to the ACP Social Report, each year the sector's companies purchase more than $19 billion in goods and services from regional business fabrics.
This progress depends not only on the sector but also on private investment and public programs that leverage the installed capacity of the territory.
María Paula Gómez, regional manager of Fedepalma, emphasizes that coexistence between sectors is key for regional development. “When sectors work together, they can take on challenges and seize opportunities that translate into well-being for communities. Alliances between sectors allow for the materialization of social commitments, diversification of income sources, and expansion of opportunities in territories. The hydrocarbons sector has also contributed installed capacity, infrastructure, and valuable learnings that today strengthen the growth of other economic activities.”.
The value of the sector is also measured by what it builds and leaves in the territories. The infrastructure that connects communities, the jobs that transform lives, the companies that grow, and the new activities that diversify local economies.
In the ACP and its affiliated companies, territorial development is conceived as the possibility of building a future: one that is more diverse, sustainable, and shared. Because when territories wake up with more services, more opportunities, and more roads, they also awaken hope; the conviction that progress can take root and continue to flourish in the same places where it began to transform lives.
This is perhaps the most important footprint of the industry: to contribute to communities finding more paths to advance.
Territorial Development Monitor, 2024:
The area planted with agricultural products (avocado, rice, banana, cocoa, coffee, sugarcane, beans, lemon, corn, orange, palm oil, potato, plantain, soy, and cassava) in producing municipalities grew by 27.4% in the last decade, compared to the national 7.4%.
In Meta, Casanare, and Arauca, the harvested hectares per inhabitant exceed those of municipalities without production.
This dynamism is associated with greater connectivity and better infrastructure, strengthened by resources from the energy sector.
A family with a great life project lives here!
With the aim of improving the quality of life for residents of the municipalities of Arauca and Arauquita, SierraCol Energy, Ecopetrol, the El Alcaraván Foundation, and the Ministry of Housing have joined efforts to build more than 700 new homes and improve another 149 in rural areas of both municipalities.
As of October 31, 2025, all improved housing has been delivered, and 497 new constructions are already being inhabited by their beneficiaries. The total execution of the project represents an investment of over 65 billion pesos, consolidating itself as a milestone for Arauca and the country. This agreement represents 70% of the national execution of the Ministry of Housing in partnership with the private sector, generating well-being for more than three thousand people.
The execution of the works has been possible thanks to 100% local labor, which demonstrates that the progress of the Department arises from the talent of its people and the power of partnerships. To date, the construction of these homes has boosted local purchases of goods and services by more than 42 billion pesos and has generated one thousand jobs. It is expected that by the end of the project, the housing deficit in the municipalities of Arauca and Arauquita will be reduced by 15 to 20 percentage points.
Colombian Association of Oil and Gas