Colombia's August Oil Production Drops 3.5% Year-Over-Year

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Written by Amir Richani for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Colombia produced 750,000 barrels of oil per day (BBL/d) in August, about 3.5% less than the 777,000 BBL/d recorded in the same month last year. Oil volumes averaged 747,000 BBL/d over the first eight months of the year, a drop of 4.3% compared to last year.

Lower output in the first eight months of the year is partly due to public order disturbances. These accounted for a loss of 10,800 BBL/d, based on information shared by The Colombian Chamber of Goods and Services of Oil, Gas and Energy (CAMPETROL).

At the same time, the Rubiales oil field, the nation's largest, has been averaging lower volumes throughout 2025, with an output of 97,000 BBL/d in August compared to 100,000 BBL/d registered a year earlier.

However, the Akacias, La Cifra, Indico, Quifa, and Caño Sur oil fields averaged 8.5% higher production in 2025, with volumes of 139,000 BBL/d in the first eight months of the year, helping offset some of the losses seen across other assets.

State-owned Ecopetrol (Bogotá, Columbia) is by far the largest oil producer in the country, accounting for roughly 63% of the volumes, followed by Frontera with 6.7% and Geopark with 5.8%.

Meanwhile, Colombia's natural gas output stood at 1.21 million cubic feet per day (MCF/D) in August, compared to 1.43 mcf/d generated during the same period last year. Ecopetrol was the largest producer, representing 69% of the volumes.

Colombia holds oil reserves to sustain 7.2 years of output, and gas reserves for 5.9 years of output. Despite this, the government of Gustavo Petro froze all new exploration licenses after coming to power in 2022. However, companies with existing licenses, such as Ecopetrol, can use them to explore for oil and gas.

Despite Petro's opposition to hydrocarbons, companies have made significant gas discoveries in recent years. One example is the Sirius project offshore Colombia, owned by Ecopetrol and Petrobras (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil). It holds more than 6 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.

The companies are currently studying the project's viability. Sirius could help address some of Colombia's energy security concerns amid lower output and limited reserve expansions.

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