Media Contact:
Justin Wasser, jwasser@earthworks.org, 202.753.7016
Denise Stilley, dstilley@eia-global.org,
ECOPETROL’S METHANE PROBLEM, COLOMBIA’S METHANE OPPORTUNITY
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Earthworks released a comprehensive analysis of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from Ecopetrol facilities on the final day of the World Health Organization’s Second Global Conference on Air Pollution and Health in Cartagena, Colombia. The analysis indicates what appear to be routine and possibly unlawful methane emissions from the Colombian state-owned oil giant. The results build upon an exposé, Crude Lies and a leaked database, the Iguana Papers, released on March 20, 2025 by the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA). Findings from Earthworks indicate that Ecopetrol’s hidden methane problem, if left unaddressed, poses serious risk in jeopardizing Colombia’s global methane mitigation leadership.
Methane gas is a powerful climate pollutant that accounts for approximately 30% of warming worldwide. It is routinely leaked and released during oil and gas operations and almost always accompanied by hazardous health risks.
In August 2019, the Center for Human Rights and Environment, in collaboration with Earthworks, conducted a five-day field visit to over fifty oil and gas sites in Colombia, to register toxic gas emissions from Colombia’s oil and gas infrastructure. As a consequence of the field work and public advocacy, industry representatives and national government agencies expressed concern over the emissions images that circulated in the national media, and vowed to explore the source of the emissions.
In February 2022, Colombia passed a groundbreaking law, recognized as a milestone for the country and the global effort to mitigate climate change, which prohibited routine methane emissions during oil exploitation operations.
When Earthworks went back with EIA in March-April 2023 to the same oil and gas fields and Ecopetrol’s infrastructure, the organizations confirmed 23 cases of greenhouse gasses that potentially indicate methane emissions in violation of Colombian law. For instance, Earthworks and EIA documented a storage tank in Santander Department, Barrancabermeja polluting near busy roads, food markets and homes; routine venting in Yondó Department, Antioquia; and a separate ‘inactive’ oil well in Palágua, Boyacá that continuously released pollution near livestock.
”Vast contamination from the industry was evident and is worrisome because of its impact on vulnerable populations, particularly women and children living and going to schools next to gas and oil sites,” said Patricia Rodriguez, Earthworks International OGI Analyst and Field Advocate.
Ecopetrol has publicly committed on multiple occasions to reduce its GHG emissions, in particular methane. It has repeatedly celebrated its “successes” in reducing methane emissions. It has also joined multiple global initiatives including the Oil and Gas Methane Partnership (OGM) in 2019, the World Bank’s Zero Routine Flaring by 2030 initiative in 2020, and Aiming for Zero in 2023.
“Pledges on paper are not reductions in reality,” said Rodriguez. “Both industry and governments talk a big game but observations on the ground constantly prove they are failing to meet targets.”
President Petro took Colombia’s climate leadership to a new level. At the 28th Conference of the Parties on Climate Change (COP28) in Dubai, Colombia became the first major economy and first Latin American country to join the bloc of nationstates spearheading the push for a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty. The Colombian government’s pledge to reduce the country’s GHG emissions relies strongly on Ecopetrol because the majority state-owned company, which is the largest Colombian company, is the centerpiece of the country’s oil and gas sector.
Earthworks and EIA’s findings are a rare opportunity for President Petro to demonstrate national, regional and global leadership, by engaging Ecopetrol on a reform path that would bring effective accountability, transparency, and a fair transition of the country away from oil and fracking. Adam Dolezal, Extractive Industries campaigner at EIA, explains: “This is an opportunity for the Colombian president to live up to Colombian communities, activists, and whistleblowers who have stood up for their country.”
Earthworks field advocates operate optical gas imaging (OGI) cameras, state-of-the-art and independently verified technologies, capable of detecting volatile organic compounds (VOCs), including known carcinogens, and greenhouse gases (especially methane). The cameras help identify emissions, leaks, and events that occur during routine oil and gas operations, or because of faulty equipment, accidents, and intentional releases by operators. Every Earthworks Field Advocate is also certified to analyze the data OGI cameras capture.
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