The companies hit by Colombia's oil and gas downturn

More than a quarter of Colombia's active hydrocarbon exploration and production contracts are in limbo amid political and social turbulence in the South American country, BNamericas research shows.

National hydrocarbons agency ANH currently has 295 active E&P contracts in its database, of which 42 are in the process of being terminated and 37 are suspended. 

State-run company Ecopetrol is the worst-affected company with 16 idle projects, followed by Gran Tierra (13), Amerisur (7) and SierraCol (6). ExxonMobil, Drummond, Parex, Hocol and Emerald each have four halted projects. 

Only operators and companies with at least a 50% interest in each project were included in the research. 

In total, 21 companies have filed termination requests while 18 have suspended activities in at least one area.

The Caguán Putumayo basin in Colombia's southern Amazonian region has the most suspended projects with 13. Next is Llanos Orientales with seven, followed by Cesar-Rancheria (4) and Cordillera Oriental (3).

The Llanos Orientales basin in eastern Colombia is home to the highest number of contracts that are in the process of being terminated with eight. It is followed by Caguán-Putumayo (6), Cordillera Oriental (5) and Upper Magdalena Valley (4).

Oil and gas stakeholders have said the industry is suffering from the anti-fossil fuel agenda of President Gustavo Petro, which includes a decision to stop awarding new exploration contracts and higher taxes on producers. 

But political factors are not the only cause for concern among operators. Drilling activity has also been impacted by rising violence and socio-environmental conflicts in several departments, including Arauca, Meta, Casanare, Putumayo and Caquetá. 

The latest monthly upstream report from industry chamber Campetrol showed Colombia's oil and gas rig count fell 18% in July compared to the same period last year. 

In June, the Bogotá-based entity reported that foreign direct investment in Colombia's hydrocarbons sector dipped 28% year-on-year in the first quarter to US$575mn.