Since 1965, when a small group of pioneers founded the Oil Industry Information Center (CIIP), the country began to build an institution dedicated to producing knowledge, strengthening dialogue with the State, and promoting the strategic value of energy for national progress.
In its early years, the CIIP collected data and promoted cooperation among companies, and soon became a consulted and heard technical voice, leading to the Colombian Petroleum Association, and later, to the current Colombian Association of Petroleum and Gas (ACP), reflecting a sector that speaks of energy, sustainability, and innovation.
The ACP has been the guiding thread of an industry that has accompanied the transformation of the country. Its mission has been to serve the country through knowledge, technique, and dialogue.
Knowledge as a foundation
In the 1960s, Colombia was still learning to be an oil-producing country. The industry was small, but already strategic. “We had a small economy, with difficulties, oriented towards import substitution, highly regulated, with a lack of foreign currency. The Colombian hydrocarbons sector was in a transitional period in the operation of the initial concessions; and a world that was beginning to show frictions between production and consumption,” recalls Luis Ernesto Mejía, former Minister of Mines and Energy.
In its beginnings, “it was a think tank, leading studies around important issues about the sector and its contributions in various areas, then it became more of a management area for environmental licenses and from there it transitioned to what it is today, a guild that includes management in very important areas such as communications and corporate affairs, sustainability, regulatory and economic aspects,” highlights Rafael Herz, former vice president of the ACP.
Amylkar Acosta, former Minister of Mines and Energy, complements the picture: “Colombia, by the 1960s, was still a junior player in the global context of this industry, production only reached approximately 70,000 barrels per day. But since then, after coffee, oil gained relevance in our foreign trade balance.”.
For Tomás González, former Minister of Mines and Energy, “we still had a production dominated by foreign companies, production was small and the policy, incipient; there was no well-formed and modern oil policy, it was another country and another industry.” He adds that, for this reason, there was a need for a strong and organized representation, in which context the ACP emerged “to represent the sector and see how to maximize its benefits to the country.”.
Alejandro Martínez, former president of the ACP, recalls: “I arrived (at the guild) in ”94 and it was already a well-established institution. It had a newsletter and the presidents of 14 affiliated companies met once a month to discuss the problems of the industry.” He adds that with the start of production at Caño Limón and later with Cusiana and Cupiagua, it was necessary to transform the information center into a top-level business guild, given the economic importance that the industry acquired in the country.
In turn, Alexandra Hernández, former vice president of the guild, recalls that with the challenges posed by new discoveries, the guild transformed to “propose public policy, regulation, for the development of that oil industry in the process of strengthening.”.
Thus, the history of the ACP is built on technical, economic, environmental, and social milestones that, according to expert voices in the sector, has been addressed with dialogue, proposals, and commitment to the country. Below, some of them highlight the journey of the Association, its contributions, and legacy that continues to be built.
The oil industry has been decisive for the development of Colombia.
Alejandro Martínez, former president of the ACP. For about 20 years, he mentions that, during his time in the guild, the country faced difficulties in attracting investment, the environmental licensing processes and permits took a long time, and blockades and public order problems frequently affected operations. “Fortunately, the industry managed, through the ACP, to make decision-makers aware of what was at stake in terms of the country's economic and social development and to be receptive,” he expresses while highlighting the collaboration between industry and Government as key to overcoming obstacles.
Among the milestones, he emphasizes that, with the production of Caño Limón and then Cusiana and Cupiagua, “Colombia was able to be an oil exporter, its trade balance became positive, and the industry accounted for a quarter of the central government's income and half of the value of exports,” and that with these last fields, the natural gas industry and the massification plan for this energy source emerged. In addition to exploratory activity at sea, the increase in heavy crude production, and the blending of hydrocarbons with biofuels.
“This industry has made a huge contribution to the country, in terms of the economy, wealth generation, and poverty reduction,” he emphasizes and invites continued efforts to preserve the contributions of hydrocarbons even in the energy transition process, which requires safe and reliable sources.
Pedagogy, sensible regulation, and spokespersonship in complex times.
When talking about the main challenges he faced during his time at the ACP, Francisco Lloreda, former president,, recalled what he called a tsunami of popular consultations that threatened to destroy the industry, “there were 56 in process”; in addition, the discussion about fracking in which, he believes, false dilemmas were raised and fear was sown in the country about it, and the tax reform of 2022, when the Government even intended to tax the royalties that companies in the sector transfer to the State.
Lloreda emphasizes that the ACP has provided great service to the oil and gas industry in Colombia throughout the entire chain and to the country, taking on its spokesperson role in complex moments, contributing to educating about the sector, promoting reasonable regulation, and ensuring that laws do not go against the industry that is so important for the economic stability of the country and its territories.
The former president of the ACP thanks those who have worked in the guild in different roles during its first 60 years, and to the companies that have entrusted their representation to the ACP, “because it is thanks to them that the guild exists, is heard, and respected,” and invites everyone to continue believing in the country, not to give up on defending the sector, and to continue supporting it, as “Colombia needs the oil and gas industry for many decades, and this guild is called to ensure that this happens.”.
The ACP and the industry are transformation
“I found a sector that in more than 100 years of history has the capacity to identify and develop very complex projects in areas with a lack of institutional support, taking on great risks and working with world-class standards that have been improving more and more,” recalls Frank Pearl, current president of the ACP, since his arrival at the guild in 2022.
For Pearl, this industry has an entrepreneurial capacity that could be applied in other sectors to achieve a much more modern and diversified economy. He highlights the sector as number one in economic contributions to the country, and for its commitment to help close social gaps, without replacing the State, but fulfilling the social function of the business sector.
He considers the guild synonymous with transformation, which implies a commitment to doing things differently moving forward and contributing to making things better.
Pearl thanks those who have forged the ACP of today over these 60 years. “I always say: let’s not forget that we are standing on the shoulders of others. In an organization with an impeccable legacy and history. Because we must honor the past to be able to think about transforming the future from the present.”.
He invites those who make up the industry to “be clear about who we are, what we have done, and what we represent, because our value is determined by ourselves through our actions, what we have contributed to the regions, and what we will contribute to the future.”.
Major milestones in the hydrocarbon industry in Colombia
Luis Ernesto Mejía, former Minister of Mines and Energy, summarizes the recent history of the Colombian oil industry in five major milestones. The first, the reversions of the initial fields to Ecopetrol. The second, in the 70s with the creation of the Association Contract, a key figure that led to three major discoveries: Caño Limón, Cusiana, and Cupiagua.
The third, with the decision in the early 80s to change the association contract for the stepped production contract, with new obligations and burdens that harmed legal security and disincentivized exploratory work, so in the 90s the country returned to the ghost of losing its self-sufficiency capacity.
The fourth, in the late 90s and early 2000s —when the country was experiencing a time with great security difficulties, activities were not viable, and infrastructure problems were enormous—, the split of Ecopetrol from the management of resources and the creation of the National Hydrocarbons Agency, with a new oil policy that allowed for intense activity again and led the country towards 2013 to a production of 1 million barrels a day, and enabled other new discoveries, such as Sirius.
And the fifth, which “unfortunately is currently being experienced, due to ideological positions related to climate change and the wrong assignment of blame to fossil fuels, because the problem lies not in their production but in greenhouse gas emissions, which has us on the verge again of losing our self-sufficiency capacity.”.
Mejía highlights the work of the ACP in building public policy, “because it has provided information objectively, which allowed us to debate the proposals of the new policy with the greatest certainty possible that what we were doing was correct.”.
The ACP has been the guiding thread of an industry that has accompanied the transformation of the country. Its mission has been to serve the country through knowledge, technique, and dialogue.
Past and future energy of Colombia
Amylkar Acosta, former Minister of Mines and Energy, recalls that the energy crisis of 1973 was a turning point. “There is a before and after the Yom Kippur War. The Arab embargo on Western countries caused a global shortage and an unprecedented upward spiral: we went from two dollars per barrel to more than 12, 14, in one year. Since then, prices have never returned to the same.”.
Focusing on Colombia, it narrates when in 1975, Colombia went from exporting to importing oil. “It was a traumatic juncture that coincided with the great discovery of natural gas in La Guajira. The president of Ecopetrol at the time, Francisco Villarreal, coined a historic phrase: ‘we don’t have oranges, but we have lemons,’ referring to gas.”.
Among other aspects, Acosta highlights the resilience of the industry and the lessons that the junctures have left the country, for example, a greater awareness of the importance of economic diversification to avoid dependence on this sector without turning its back on the extractive activity, which has ultimately been the main source of resource generation for the country to finance its development.
He says that the ACP “has been an essential interlocutor for the Government, Congress, and the regions. It has contributed to legal and regulatory developments that have made Colombia a competitive country.”.
Acosta proposes to view the sector “with bifocal lenses: the here and now, but also the medium and long term.” He warns that hydrocarbons “will continue to accompany the country for a long time” and that Colombia must take advantage of its resources “to finance a responsible energy transition, based on science, economic reality, and commitment to social development.”.
A technical and reliable guild at the service of the country
Rafael Herz, former vice president of the ACP, assures that remembering his time in the guild evokes a stage of challenges and transformations. In which “the task of building a narrative that showed the industry as part of the solutions was assumed,” highlighting its contribution to environmental protection, biodiversity, and regional development. “We work to demonstrate that the sector generates well-being, with projects that change lives,” he expresses.
He believes that, with this vision, the ACP consolidated its role as a technical guild capable of generating trust among communities, governments, and companies. “It has managed to bring together a diverse sector, uniting large and small companies around common standards and a shared vision of responsibility.” In his opinion, that leadership has been key to positioning oil and gas as pillars of development, and to demonstrating that a just energy transition must be built from the reality of the country, not from ideology.
He highlights the ACP's knowledge, its technical capacity, and above all, the spirit of those who are part of it. “Continue working based on science, technique, and awareness,” is his invitation considering that the hydrocarbon industry will continue to be an essential actor for the country's development and to build a sustainable energy future.
ACP received the National Environmental Award
Alexandra Hernández, former vice president of the ACP, who spent 17 years in the Association, recalls that she joined the guild “when it was anticipated that the Cusiana, Cupiagua and Chuchupa, Ballena fields were going to start declining; at that moment, the oil policy was reformulated, because at the end of the nineties there was no investment being made; and the contractual, fiscal, institutional terms and public order issues made Colombia an unattractive country.”.
She adds that this management allowed the industry to flourish again, and highlights the coordinated work with government entities, for example, with the Ministry of Environment, to reduce licensing times. As well as that, the ACP received the National Environmental Award for being a pioneer and example in promoting clean production standards, environmental manuals, and environmental management instruments.
Moving forward, Hernández points out that in exploratory matters, the strategy needs to be rethought and creativity is required in the search for new deposits. Where “fracking is a viable, feasible alternative with enormous potential that would change the country’s economic and socio-environmental history.” Additionally, “it is necessary to reevaluate the fiscal framework structurally; return to contracts of legal stability, because part of the development that the industry had was because private investment believed in Colombia. And to regain trust, legal stability and clarity in the rules are needed.”.
Challenges for a transition that requires hydrocarbons
“There are three major challenges that the sector has faced. First, the ability to maintain dynamic investment. Sometimes it is thought that investment will always be there, will always come, and that is not true. We must work to ensure that projects can be done and done well,” states Tomás González, former Minister of Mines and Energy.
The second challenge is environmental issues, interaction with communities, and the socio-environmental regulations that impose more demands and, with that, greater pressure on projects. And third, taxation, as the sector “is by far the one that pays the most taxes.”.
He reflects that the country needs to be capable of, if it is going to make an energy transition, also making a fiscal transition. “The country sometimes seems ungrateful for everything that oil and gas have contributed. For example, public investment and macroeconomic balance are firmly anchored in oil, and hydrocarbons, in general. We need to recognize it, understand it, and look at it dispassionately to be able to make a balanced energy transition,” he considers.
He explains that hydrocarbons have two main roles in this process: that of gas, a fuel for the transition due to its ability to reduce emissions in the short term; and the fiscal role, given that transition costs money and the resources from the subsoil can be used to finance it. Additionally, “because what is buried in the subsoil is not barrels of oil and cubic feet of gas, it is taxes, royalties, social investment, and purchases of local goods and services,” he explains.
González values the work done by the guild: “to all the meetings, on the different topics we had with the ACP, they always arrived with the Excel under their arm and that facilitates all the conversations, one looks at the numbers, discusses them and agreements are made on how big the problem is, what the impacts are, and that makes it easier to enter the discussion of what to do.”.
Colombian Association of Oil and Gas