Even though there were attempts as early as 1941 for the Colombian government to legally take over the Tropical Oil Co.,[7] it was not until the expiration of the Concesión De Mares contract that a transfer of ownership would take place.
Ecopetrol undertook activities in the oil chain as a state-owned industrial and commercial company in charge of administrating the nation's hydrocarbon resources, and grew as other concessions reverted and became part of its operation.
[8] The nationalization of Ecopetrol was not smooth and met with some opposition and skepticism as to how the company could in fact be able to keep up with the complex and expensive operations without outside expertise in the changing international market.
During the 1990s, Colombia extended its oil self-sufficiency with the discovery of the giant Cusiana and Cupiagua Fields in the foothills of the Eastern Ranges of the Colombian Andes, bordering the Llanos Orientales.
In 2003, the Colombian government restructured the Empresa Colombiana de Petróleos, in order to internationalize it and make the company more competitive in the framework of the global hydrocarbon industry.
Decree 1760, dated 26 June 2003 modified the organic structure of the Empresa Colombiana de Petróleos and made it Ecopetrol S.A., a public stock-holding corporation, one hundred percent state-owned, associated with the Ministry of Mines and Energy, and governed by its by-laws contained in Notarized Document No.
As of 2003, Ecopetrol S.A. began an era in which, with more autonomy, it accelerated its exploratory activities, its capacity to obtain results with a business and commercial vision and the interest in improving its competitiveness on the world oil market.
[10] On August 20, 2021, the company acquired a 51.4% controlling stake in Interconexión Eléctrica, previously held by the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit, establishing a diversified energy conglomerate in South America.
Individuals who want to take part in the process will be able to acquire shares maximum up to five thousand legal monthly minimum wages, or about 2 billion Colombian pesos (some US$904,000).
These resources will allow it to intensify the exploration and to increase the own production up to reaching levels of 500,000 barrels (79,000 m3) of oil equivalent in the year 2011.
[12] In July 2008, a Latin American investment advisor, the Compass Group, stated that Colombia has an industry growth in many areas including energy, agriculture, technology, infrastructure and manufactured products.
The ILO states that the strike could not have been declared illegal on substantive and procedural grounds and that the government should respect the order of the arbitral tribunal regarding the reinstatement of the workers.
It mentions that the Fundación Ideas para la Paz has joined together with Ecopetrol to test the Conflict Sensitive business practice tool risk analysis and management methodology.
[21] The group also wrote a letter to JPMorgan Chase,[22] detailing discrepancies between Ecopetrol's current plans and activities and claims the company made in its statement to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) [23] about its operations in indigenous reserves.