BOGOTÁ, COLOMBIA (By Ana Sanches, Energy Analytics Institute, 23.Jul.2026, Words: 103) — Buenos Aires-based YPF SA reached 1,395 fracturing stages, the highest number in its history. This represents almost 50% of all fracturing activity carried out in Argentina.
Tag: fracking
ANALYSIS 2/2: Mexico’s high-wire act, energy sovereignty, fracking, and risks of betting on gas
HOUSTON, TEXAS (By Pietro D. Pitts, Energy Analytics Institute, 21.Apr.2026, Words: 2,104) — Mexico is stepping into one of the most consequential energy debates of the decade: whether to leverage unconventional gas via fracking as a pillar of “energy sovereignty,” or to keep its distance from a technology that has long […]
ANALYSIS 1/2: Mexico and whether to frack or not to frack, that’s a question among questions
HOUSTON, TEXAS (By Pietro D. Pitts, Energy Analytics Institute, 17.Apr.2026, Works: 1,750) — Mexico finally put faces and names to one of the biggest questions hanging over its energy future: whether to frack or not to frack. President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo, flanked by Energy Secretary (SENER) head Luz Elena González Escobar and PEMEX CEO Víctor Rodríguez […]
Fact sheet: Mexican committee to study fracking in Mexico, present results in 2 months
MEXICO CITY, MEXICO (By Fidencio Casillas, Energy Analytics Institute, 15.Apr.2026, Words: 913) — As part of the strategy to strengthen energy sovereignty, Mexico’s president Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo presented the committee of scientists and specialists who will analyze the possible sustainable exploitation of natural gas reserves in unconventional deposits to reduce […]
Sheinbaum presents committee of scientists and specialists to analyze “fracking”
MEXICO CITY, MEXICO (By Fidencio Casillas, Energy Analytics Institute, 15.Apr.2026, Words: 350) — As part of Mexico’s strategy to strengthen energy sovereignty president Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo presented the committee of scientists and specialists who will analyze the possible sustainable exploitation of natural gas reserves in unconventional deposits to reduce imports […]
Mexico pivots towards fracking to lift Pemex oil and gas production
MEXICO CITY, MEXICO (By Adriana Barrera, Reuters, 7.Aug.2025, Words: 574) — Mexico is planning to increase the use of hydraulic fracturing to tap unconventional hydrocarbon deposits and boost oil and gas production after years of declining output, marking a shift in its stance on what some say is a highly polluting […]
Argentina’s Revival Will Move Global Energy Markets
(LatAm Investor, 20.Jan.2023) — Most international investors keep clear of Argentina. It has an unenviable record of default and expropriations while successive governments seem unable to manage the country’s incredible natural wealth. The return of the controversial Cristina Kirchner – who was Argentina’s first lady then president from 2003 to […]
Ecopetrol says Fracking Could Boost Reserves by up to 15 Years
(Reuters, 5.May.2022) — The use of commercial fracking in Colombia could boost oil and gas reserves by between 12 and 15 years, majority state-owned oil producer Ecopetrol said on Thursday, adding it expects a ruling on the suspended environmental license for a fracking pilot project to come in June. Supporters […]
Colombia Judge Orders Suspension of Fracking Pilot Project
(Reuters, 21.Apr.2022) — A judge in the Colombian city of Barrancabermeja on Thursday suspended an environmental license granted to a hydraulic fracturing – or fracking – pilot project, on the grounds that local communities were not properly consulted. Colombia’s majority state-owned oil company Ecopetrol and partner U.S. oil major Exxon […]
Colombia Oil Workers Join Anti-Fracking Campaign
(Reuters, 6.Apr.2021) — Colombia’s largest oil union has joined anti-fracking activists to oppose the development of non-conventional energy deposits and demand a quicker transition to renewable energy, campaigners said on Tuesday. The Petroleum Industry Workers Union (USO) and the Colombia Free from Fracking Alliance said in a joint statement they […]
Vaca Muerta Now Producing At Record Levels
(Rystad, 3.Feb.2021) — The oil production decline that the Covid-19 pandemic brought to Argentina’s Vaca Muerta formation now seems like a distant memory. The reserve’s oil output has not only rebounded to pre-pandemic levels but also reached a record high of 124,000 barrels per day (bpd) in December 2020, a […]
Ecopetrol Eyes Two Promising Developments
(Energy Analytics Institute, 31.Jan.2021) — Colombia’s state oil and gas company Ecopetrol is eyeing two promising developments in Colombia that could utilize initial lessons learned abroad from offshore Brazil and the US Permian Basin. The first relates to an offshore development and the second relates to pilot fracking projects. The […]
Driller Stuns Creditors As Argentina’s Dollars Dwindle
(Bloomberg, 19.Jan.2021) — In the 99 years since it was founded to pump the oil fields of Patagonia, Argentine energy driller YPF SA has been whipsawed by countless booms and busts. If global oil markets weren’t collapsing, it seemed, then Argentina was mired in a debt crisis that was wreaking havoc on […]
Facing An Economic Crisis, Colombia Turns To Fracking
(Sierra Club, 17.Dec.2020) — San Martín is full of oil men. This small, no-nonsense Colombian town in the department of Cesar, is hot, chaotic, and long accustomed to the presence of the petroleum industry. Ecopetrol, the state-owned oil company, is everywhere. Standing in the town center it is impossible not […]
Ecopetrol Eyes Capex of $3.5-$4bn In 2021
(Ecopetrol, 14.Dec.2020) — Ecopetrol S.A.’s Board of Directors approved the 2021 organic investment plan for the Ecopetrol Group (GE) for an estimated amount between $3.5bn and $4bn. HIGHLIGHTS – The investment plan approved by the Board of Directors is oriented towards restoring the Ecopetrol Business growth’s path, increasing competitiveness, strengthening […]
Colombia Bid Round To Investigate Fracking Projects
(Reuters, 11.Nov.2020) — Colombia will hold a second bidding round to potentially grant contracts to companies interested in exploring non-conventional oil and gas deposits, using techniques like fracking, the National Hydrocarbons Agency (ANH) said. Majority state-owned oil company Ecopetrol, Exxonmobil, and Drummond already have contracts for investigative projects and may […]
Ecopetrol Reports Positive 3Q:20 Results
(Ecopetrol, 28.Oct.2020) — Ecopetrol S.A. announced the Ecopetrol Group’s financial results for the third quarter and the first nine months of 2020. Financial results were prepared in accordance with the International Financial Reporting Standards applicable in Colombia. *Ebitda adjusted to exclude the effect of the Voluntary Retirement Plan amounts to […]
Colombia’s First Fracking Could Start In Late 2021
(Platts, 6.Oct.2020) — The first fracking in Colombia could come by the end of 2021, after companies obtain necessary environmental permits, energy minister Diego Mesa said Oct. 6 The Colombian government expects to sign the first contracts for pilot projects in November and December and complete environmental impact assessments in […]
Q&A: Colombia’s Lloreda Eyes E&P Revival
(Argus, 28.Sep.2020) — Colombia’s oil industry is slowly shaking off the double market blows of 2020 while it prepares to debut unconventional pilot projects. Oil chamber executive president Francisco Lloreda reflects on the upcoming challenges with senior contributing editor Patricia Garip. Edited highlights follow: How is Colombia’s oil industry recovering […]
Bayón Says Unconventionals Not The Only Option
Ecopetrol’ CEO Felipe Bayón said unconventionals were a very important option for Colombia since they allowed the country to boost its oil and gas reserves-to-production ratios while generating benefits for many regions such as employment, and goods and services. But he added: “In terms energy security, unconventionals are very important but they’re not the only option.”
ExxonMobil Secures Another LT Vaca Muerta Concession
(Argus, 14.Aug.2020) — ExxonMobil has been awarded a 35-year concession for another block in Vaca Muerta, a massive shale play that has been driving the company’s growth in oil and natural gas production in Argentina. The government of Neuquen, a southwestern province where most of the play is located, said […]
Quiet Destruction Of Colombia’s Shale Potential
(Oilprice.com, 23.Jul.2020) — Sharply weaker oil prices, falling investment and dwindling oil production are weighing heavily on Colombia’s economic outlook. Last decade, the strife-torn Andean country bet its economic future on oil and became Latin America’s third-largest oil producer. A combination of deteriorating oil production and low reserves, despite promising […]
BJ Services’ Milestone With Fracturing Technology
(BJ Services, 4.Jun.2020) — At the end of April 2020, BJ Services completed a 1,000-hour field trial of its next-generation direct-drive turbine fracturing pump, TITAN™. This rigorous trial, in actual field conditions, allowed BJ to validate the performance of the TITAN™ pump alongside conventional equipment in one of the most […]
Argentina’s Shale Boom Hits New Milestone
(Oilprice.com, Irina Slav, 10.Dec.2019) — YPF, the Argentine state energy company, has drilled the longest horizontal oil well lateral, at 3,890 meters, or more than 12,700 feet, in the Vaca Muerta shale play, S&P Global Platts reports, citing a source close to the company. The record-breaking lateral—the horizontal part of […]
Ecopetrol To Ratchet Up Oil Output By 4% In 2020
(S&P Global Platts, 30.Oct.2019) — Colombia’s state-controlled Ecopetrol is targeting 2020 production of 740,000-760,000 barrels of crude and equivalents per day, up to 4% more than expected average output this year, CEO Felipe Bayon said during a conference call Wednesday to discuss third-quarter results. He also announced a significantly higher […]
Colombia Fracking Pilots Could Start In Late 2020: Ecopetrol CEO
(Reuters, Jessica Resnick-Ault, 25.Sep.2019) — Colombia’s state-run oil company Ecopetrol will be ready to start fracking pilot projects in the second half of 2020, chief executive Felipe Bayon said on Wednesday, as oil companies await federal regulatory guidelines for the projects. The pilots are part of the Andean country’s efforts […]
Colombia Court Maintains Fracking Moratorium
(Reuters, 10.Sep.2019) — Colombia’s top administrative court maintained a temporary moratorium on the use of fracking on Tuesday, stymieing potential pilot projects amid ongoing arguments in a wider case regarding the use of the technique to extract oil and gas. The decision by three magistrates from the Council of State, […]
Exxon, Chevron See U.S. Shale Field Consolidation
(Reuters, 4.Sep.2019) — The two largest U.S. oil and gas companies on Tuesday left the door open for more acquisitions in the country’s top shale field. Exxon Mobil Corp expects to see industry consolidation to happen “over some period of time,” in the Permian Basin in west Texas and New […]
Argentina NatGas Exports Reach 5.9 MMcm/d In 1H:19
(Energy Analytics Institute, Aaron Simonsky, 22.Aug.2019) — Argentina shipped an average 5.9 million cubic meters per day (MMcm/d) of natural gas to Chile, Brazil and Uruguay during the first half of 2019. Argentina re-initiated gas exports to Chile in September 2018 under an interruptible modality, after abruptly suspending shipments in […]
Colombia Pipeline Ready To Transport More Crude
(Reuters, 21.Aug.201 9) — Pipeline company Oleoducto de Colombia is ready to move increased crude output from the center of Colombia to the Caribbean if the use of fracking is approved in the Andean country, the company’s chief executive said on Wednesday. Both the government and investors interested in possible […]
Mexican Lawsuit Risks Permian Route To Market
(Petroleum Economist, Charles Waine, 2.Aug.2019) — Mexico’s Comisión Federal de Electridad (CFE), the state-owned electricity utility, has started legal proceedings against seven natural gas pipelines. The move intensifies fears about both the anti-business agenda of the country’s president Andres López Obrador and further delays to a much-needed release valve for […]
Ecopetrol Call To Discuss Oxy Midland Basin Deal
(Ecopetrol, 31.Jul.2019) — Ecopetrol S.A. announces that on August 1st, Ecopetrol’s senior management will host two conference calls to review the joint venture with Occidental Petroleum Corporation to develop Occidental’s Midland Basin properties in the Permian Basin. Please find below the timing, dial-in and links to access the conferences: Spanish […]
Ecopetrol and Occidental Form Strategic Midland JV
(Ecopetrol, 31.Jul.2019) — Ecopetrol S.A. announced formation of a joint venture with Occidental Petroleum Corporation to develop 97,000 net acres of Occidental’s Midland Basin properties in the Permian Basin. The JV enables Ecopetrol to book ~160 MMboe of proved undeveloped reserves at transaction closing and provides access to one of […]
Argentina Gas Output At Highest Point In 11 years
(Energy Analytics Institute, Aaron Simonsky, 29.Jul.2019) — Production of crude oil and natural gas in Argentina continues to rise, aided by growth in unconventional volumes from the Vaca Muerta formation. Highlights: — Gas production in June 2019 rose 5.8% compared to June 2018; reaches highest point since September 2008 — […]
Shale Helps Argentina Hit Oil, Natgas Output Record
(Reuters, 2.Jul.2019) — Argentine oil and natural gas output hit a record high in May thanks to increased production from the country’s sprawling Vaca Muerta shale formation, the government said on Wednesday. National gas production increased 7.6% in May compared with the same month last year, while oil production grew […]
Vaca Muerta Finally Produces Oil, 100 Years Later
(Bloomberg, Jonathan Gilbert, 25.Jun.2019) — Along the western edge of Argentina’s Patagonia, on an arid steppe nestled against the Andes mountains, lies a shale formation known as the Vaca Muerta. And ever since engineers confirmed what an American geologist suspected a century ago — that the Vaca Muerta, or dead […]
LatAmNRG Q&A Series With Barry Blacklock About Water Management In Fracking
(Energy Analytics Institute, Ian Silverman, 8.Jun.2019) — As part of Energy Analytics Institute’s ongoing coverage of the Latin America and Caribbean energy sectors from conventionals, unconventionals to renewables, Calgary-based Consultant Barry Blacklock weighs in on the fracking debate in Colombia and one of many headwinds to face the Andean country: […]
Colombian Streets Filled With Protests Against Fracking
(Energy Analytics Institute, Piero Stewart, 7.Jun.2019) — Protesters in Colombia took to the streets across the Andean country on Friday 7 June to show their disagreement with the government of President Ivan Duque to move forward with fracking in the country. Related Story: Exploring The Innovative Evolution of Hydraulic Fracturing […]
Exploring The Innovative Evolution Of Hydraulic Fracturing
(JPT, Matt Zborowski, 3.Jun.2019) — Fueled by a culture of innovation, hydraulic fracturing has transformed the energy landscape from inside North America out. But achieving that paradigm shift took years of improving subsurface understanding, technology development, and fine tuning the completions practice through trial and error. Authors from Liberty Oilfield […]
Argentina’s Economic Crisis Threatens To Stall Vaca Muerta
(Petroleum Economist, Charles Waine, 14.May.2019) — Argentina’s hope of fast-tracking production from its vast Vaca Muerta shale play, the world’s second largest by output, could be delayed as the country adapts to recession. Last year, Argentina was forced to seek a $57bn bailout package from the IMF — the largest-ever […]
Argentina’s Vaca Muerta Formation Produces 35% Of Country’s Natural Gas
(Energy Analytics Institute, Aaron Simonsky, 23.Apr.2019) — Argentina’s Vaca Muerta formation currently accounts for close to 35% of Argentina’s natural gas production and 15% of the South American country’s crude oil production, announced Neuquén Governor Omar Gutiérrez. In the last three years, unconventional oil production has grown 150% while gas […]