Ecopetrol Shoulders the Load as Petro’s Oil Policies Squeeze the Patch

Colombia’s Ecopetrol is pressing ahead with a 2026 spending plan of 22–27 trillion pesos ($5.9–$7.2 billion), essentially holding the line from this year despite a political climate that couldn’t be more hostile to hydrocarbons. The company says the money will be deployed “with discipline,” which in Ecopetrol-speak means: drill aggressively enough to keep the lights on, but not so aggressively that Bogotá accuses you of sabotaging the energy transition. The plan calls for 380–430 development wells…