INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Colombian oil industry has yet to surpass its pre-COVID-19 operations, as investor and management expert Matthew Smith noted in an
Oilprice.com article.In May 2023, Colombia, a country with significant oil reliance, pumped an average of 773,789 barrels per day
(b/d).Though this showed a notable yearly increase, it was still 13.5% below the 894,519 b/d produced in May 2019, highlighting that
significant concern for Colombia, which is already grappling with potential gas shortages.Smith pinpoints various factors for this sluggish
recovery.Notably, the Colombian Petroleum Association (ACP) highlighted that private oil company exploration investments would see a 33%
first half of 2023.Smith further suggests that security concerns, persistent protests against the oil industry, and heightened geopolitical
his hydrocarbon exploration cessation proposal, stalling his activist agenda.According to the report, although ACP anticipated 55-60
exploration wells in 2023, data from the National Hydrocarbons Agency (ANH) indicates only 28 exploration wells were finalized in the
initial five months of 2023.Thus, Smith forecasts fewer wells for 2023 than the 68 drilled in 2022.Furthermore, as of July 2023, only 24
