Petroleum industry in Colombia

[1] The state-owned Colombian Petroleum Enterprise (Ecopetrol) is an important exporter and a highly profitable concern.

Although the tax system changed to encourage exploration, private-sector investment has been slow to rebound, among other reasons because the oil sector has been a direct target of insurgent groups.

The new National Hydrocarbons Agency (Agencia Nacional de Hidrocarburos, ANH) became a resource administrator.

Compressed natural gas, biodiesel, and ethanol are also being promoted as options to increase the nation's domestic supply of energy resources.

[1] In 2007 Ecopetrol began a public stock offering in order to finance its growth, increase accountability, and improve its capacity to compete with other oil companies.

As Colombia's largest firm, Ecopetrol should provide a significant boost to the overall level of transactions on the Colombian stock exchange.

[citation needed] Colombia's production of natural gas in 2007 was entirely for domestic consumption, when it amounted to 7.7 billion cubic meters, or 0.3 percent of world output.

This natural endowment has been used since the 1990s, and monopolies on the Atlantic coast and in the eastern plains (Llanos) control production.