Ricardo Roa, president of Ecopetrol, spoke about the company's results, energy outlook, and international business
Protagonistas de la economía colombiana · Ricardo Roa, president of Ecopetrol
Ecopetrol is not only the country's main company, but also the largest contributor to the public finances of the Colombian state.
Although in 2025 its profits fell to $9 trillion (Colombian pesos), with a negative variation close to 40%, the oil company remains one of the crown jewels of the national economy and maintains ample opportunities in renewable energies, as well as in international projects, including a possible reactivation of energy business with Venezuela.
Ricardo Roa, president of the state oil company, spoke about his performance at the head of the company and explained the weight that the "Iguana" has in terms of royalties, taxes, and dividends for the country. He also referred to the possibility of resuming energy business with the neighboring country.
You have just presented the results of the 2025 management, and from the outside, people often compare figures such as profits or sales between years. What is the general balance you make as head of Ecopetrol?
Allow me to share some figures that accompany the results of this management. It is not just about explaining the 2025 balance, but also reflecting the work done during these almost three years at the head of the company.
The numbers are simple. In 2022 we had a production of 709,000 barrels per day, with a Representative Market Rate above $4,400 (COP) and a Brent price close to US$102 per barrel. This reflected a cost per barrel of oil in pesos of around $421,500.
Today the dollar is near $3,600 and the price of crude oil is around US$68 per barrel, which generates a significant impact on revenues and, of course, on profit. Close to 78% of that variation is explained by factors such as the exchange rate, the international price of crude oil, inflation, and the taxes we have had to assume during the last year.
In the world, oil companies recorded a 27% drop in their EBITDA last year, which also impacted their revenues and profits. Surely not all of them have to convert their accounting to Colombian pesos, which introduces an additional effect in our case, but in general there is a global impact.
I mention that data based on the analysis of some 10 or 12 oil companies worldwide, both national and international, which reported similar results, with a drop close to 27% in their profits mainly associated with the reduction of prices in the market.
To what extent does the appreciation of the peso affect Ecopetrol's profits?
We are seeing effects, for the last year, close to 12% which, added to 15% from the drop in Brent, give a total effect of 25% on revenues, on EBITDA and, from there downwards, on net profit.
How much is Ecopetrol paying in taxes?
Last year we paid $4.5 trillion only in VAT. In total, we are close to paying $20 trillion per year in taxes. To that we must add royalties and profits.
Look at whichever period you want or the time windows you prefer from previous governments. Never in history had Ecopetrol delivered to the Nation, between taxes, royalties, and dividends, transfers of the amounts like the current ones. Last year they were $35 trillion.
If the four years of this government are added up, we will be delivering transfers to the Nation, between taxes, royalties, and profits, for about $180 trillion. I have the figures from previous governments: in Iván Duque's term it was $81 trillion in four years, while in Juan Manuel Santos's last term it was $79 trillion.
Now we are delivering about $180 trillion in transfers to the Nation, which demonstrates solidity, capacity, and the possibility of generating value for both the country and the shareholders.
Is there a possibility that Colombia will again produce one million barrels per day and project its sale with a crude oil price close to US$80?
In the exercises we have done on our capacity and ability to produce autonomously, the medium- and long-term goal is to reach between 720,000 and 730,000 barrels per day.
Naturally, if price conditions remain favorable, we will continue to bet on being in the range we were in last year, between 740,000 and 750,000 barrels per day. That is the bet we are making.
Of course, some sector policy decisions also influence. Not only in this Government, but since 2016, no new contract or round for the allocation of exploration areas has been carried out. Therefore, when I arrived at the presidency of Ecopetrol, I assumed the commitment to be much more assertive and effective in exploration activity.
Today we are recording a success rate in the exploration campaign close to 44%. The company had been having effectiveness levels between 24% and 25%. This has been possible thanks to higher investments and a more strategic focus on exploration. We are working within the 48 existing contracts and in more than two million hectares we have in the country to search for oil and gas.
Exploration has not stopped due to the fact that there are no new contracts. In the current ones we are being more successful, we are investing more, and we are also extracting more crude oil and gas from existing fields. This is achieved through enhanced recovery. In fact, we have already entered a stage of tertiary enhanced recovery, which last year contributed about 143 million barrels to the reserve replacement index.
Should the fracking strategy be reinforced? Should the Permian be promoted?
Well, there is a joint venture with our partner Oxy. There are development and investment plans that are executed jointly. These assets have the particularity that they produce and are profitable to the extent that drilling, extraction, and operational activity are maintained. They are short-duration assets, unlike conventional reservoirs.
For that reason, exploitation is subject to the development agreement and the work plan signed with the partner. That commitment is being fulfilled, and to that extent, today we are recording production levels close to 12,000 barrels per day from that basin, in both assets: Midland Basin and Delaware Basin.
This responds precisely to the planning and approval that is carried out each year on the development plan, which includes the number of rigs and the crude oil extraction activities that must be executed in the fields.
As president of Ecopetrol, has your perception of fracking changed?
I am absolutely diligent and respectful of public policies. If in the country there is a policy of not developing assets or investments associated with fracking, I will not execute them. From a scientific and technical point of view, I know that there are technological developments around this activity and that it does not depend solely on it being fracking, but also on the conditions of the place where the technology is intended to be applied.
For example, performing fracking in desert extensions of Houston, where even many times the landowners also own the subsoil, presents a completely different context. From a technical, technological, and scientific standpoint, the exploitation of those assets has different characteristics. There, the operation is carried out more cleanly and with low emissions to the system or the atmosphere.
In Colombia, on the other hand, it would be practically impossible to replicate those conditions in the areas where pilots had been preliminarily proposed. When I arrived at the presidency of Ecopetrol, those pilots were no longer underway. The contracts had been closed and all associated environmental, social, and economic liabilities had been settled.
For that reason, I maintained the line of not promoting or seeking investments related to the exploitation of non-conventional resources. There may be significant potential, but this type of technology also has environmental and physical effects on the territory.
With oil going from about US$60 to levels around US$80 due to global geopolitical tension, how does this new scenario change the company's decisions for the remainder of the government?
At Ecopetrol, we are observing a scenario very similar to what was experienced four years ago when the war between Ukraine and Russia began. If this situation persists over time, we will have to make a careful review of our investment plan.
This year we plan to invest about US$6.6 billion. In the last three years we have invested around US$20 billion. If the current price conditions remain stable, we would have to quickly review where the best opportunities are to exploit resources, and even evaluate the reactivation of some wells that, with low prices, are not attractive or profitable.
We will do so while staying within the metrics we have announced to the market for the medium and long term. Last year, for example, we faced a totally different situation: the price of crude oil fell to levels close to or below US$60 per barrel. At that time we paused to review the plan and adopted a more stringent efficiency program.
Thanks to those measures, we managed to close the year with savings close to $6.6 trillion. So, depending on how market conditions evolve, we will have to reassess Capex allocation and our investment priorities.
If this price scenario persists, we could approach towards the end of 2026 conditions similar to those of 2022, when the company recorded the highest revenues, EBITDA, and profits in its history. At that time, a dollar close to $4,800 in some months and crude oil prices above US$102 per barrel coincided.
What possibilities does Ecopetrol see for the reactivation of Venezuela?
I felt very honored to be part of the delegation that accompanied President Petro to the meeting with President Trump. In a close, small but very pleasant and respectful meeting, I had the opportunity to directly present our expectations regarding Ecopetrol.
The political situation in Venezuela has completely changed, and also the geopolitical context. Today there is talk of investments close to US$100 billion in the next five years to reactivate its energy sector. For a business group of the size and capacity of Ecopetrol in the oil, gas, and electricity industries, it is natural to aspire to participate in that process and accompany the reactivation of the Venezuelan economy.
We have identified an important portfolio of opportunities. Venezuela needs electricity and Colombia needs gas. They have heavy crudes that we can refine, and also light crudes on the border. In that scenario, a wide range of potential energy cooperation projects opens up between the two countries.
Can the reactivation of the pipeline continue?
I have always pointed out that there are three factors that still prevent the reactivation of the gas import contract we have with Pdvsa, signed in 2007 and valid until 2027.
The first is international restrictions. Last week we filed again with OFAC a request to be allowed to carry out transactions with the government of Venezuela and Pdvsa.
The second is the state of the gas pipeline, which today does not have the integrity or the necessary mechanical capacity to import gas. And the third has to do with Venezuela's new hydrocarbons law, which allows not only Pdvsa but also private players to participate in gas exports.
Even so, we see several opportunities. Venezuela needs electricity and Colombia requires gas. They have heavy crudes that we can refine, and also light crudes on the border. In addition, we have a very important asset like ISA, which opens possibilities in energy transmission and telecommunications.
There is also the option of participating in the Monómeros business and contributing to recovering its capacity and good name, as it had in the past.
Did Ecopetrol advance in renewable energy?
Today we have advanced in an important transition. Our goal was to incorporate 900 megawatts of clean energy, mainly solar and wind, by 2030. However, at the close of last year we had already reached 951 megawatts of installed clean energy. This means that the energy that used to cost between $500 and $600 per kilowatt hour now has a cost close to $300 per kilowatt hour. That has allowed us to generate significant savings, both in costs and emissions.
Furthermore, this transition has helped reduce the weight of energy within crude oil production costs. Last year we even reached the goal we had for 2030 in energy consumption reduction ahead of time: 25 petajoules.
To put it in context, 25 petajoules are equivalent to the energy that 383,000 passenger vehicles would consume in a year in a city like Bucaramanga. Thanks to these efficiencies, we have managed to reduce emissions to the atmosphere by 1.76 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent.
THE PROFILE
He is a mechanical engineer from the National University of Colombia, specialized in engineering management systems, with more than 30 years of professional experience. Recognized expert in the energy industry, in the last 15 years he has held senior positions in energy and gas companies in Colombia, Peru, Guatemala, and Honduras. Throughout his career, he has promoted studies and initiatives in energy generation and efficiency projects, in addition to leading strategic transformations in sector companies. He was the manager of the Bogotá Energy Group (GEB) and the International Gas Transporter (TGI).
