Colombia’s Ecopetrol Debt Funded 59% of Asset Growth
COLOMBIA · ENERGY
Key Facts
- —The country Colombia, home to about 53 million people, earns much of its export income from oil. The state owns about 88.5% of Ecopetrol, the national oil company and the country’s largest firm.
- —The background A company can grow by borrowing or by building equity, mainly through retained profits. The mix decides how much shock it can absorb when oil prices fall.
- —Why now A new chief executive, Joaquín Gutiérrez, took over on 28 September. On 2 October La República published an analysis of how Ecopetrol financed itself over the past decade.
- —What happened Iara Consulting Group found that Ecopetrol’s assets grew by 97.88 trillion pesos (about US$29.6 billion) from 2015 to 2025. Liabilities supplied 57.48 trillion pesos (about US$17.4 billion) of that, about 59%.
- —The numbers Ecopetrol’s own accounts show debt of 109.2 trillion pesos (US$29.1 billion, the company said) at the end of 2025. That was lower than a year earlier and within its own limits.
- —What it means for you Investors in Ecopetrol shares and bonds face a firm with large assets but thinner equity growth. Colombian public finances rely on its dividends and taxes.
- —Still open Whether the new management sells assets, cuts costs or borrows more to lift reserves and production.
Colombia’s state-controlled oil company, Ecopetrol, financed most of its growth over the past decade with liabilities rather than equity. That is the finding of an analysis by Iara Consulting Group, reported by the business daily La República on 2 October 2026.
The study lands days after Joaquín Gutiérrez took office as Ecopetrol’s president on 28 September. Ecopetrol’s own accounts add a stabiliser: its debt fell in 2025 and its main ratios stayed within the limits it sets itself.
What the analysis found
Between 2015 and 2025, Ecopetrol’s assets grew by 97.88 trillion pesos (about US$29.6 billion), Iara Consulting Group calculated. Equity supplied 40.40 trillion pesos (about US$12.2 billion), and liabilities the other 57.48 trillion pesos (about US$17.4 billion).
Put simply, about six-tenths of the new assets were backed by liabilities and four-tenths by equity. In 2025, according to the study, 57.72% of Ecopetrol’s assets were financed by liabilities.
“Being the biggest does not mean being the best,” said Alfredo Ceballos, president of Iara Consulting Group. “In the case of Ecopetrol, the equity does not manage to cover its debts.”
He also flagged total costs and expenses growing very close to revenue as “a warning sign”. “Profits grow because prices grow and the exchange rate grows, but why does equity not grow?” he asked.
What Ecopetrol’s own accounts show
Ecopetrol’s consolidated 2025 results, filed in the United States, put total assets at 284.1 trillion pesos (about US$85.9 billion). Liabilities were 174.9 trillion pesos (about US$52.9 billion), about 62% of assets.
The two shares rest on different sets of accounts; La República did not say which ones the consultancy used. Both point the same way: liabilities carry more of the balance sheet than equity.
Ecopetrol’s debt stood at 109.2 trillion pesos at the end of 2025, or US$29.07 billion at the company’s own rate. That was 10.8 trillion pesos (about US$3.3 billion) less than a year earlier.
The company said the fall came mainly from the exchange rate. Its gross debt was 2.3 times annual operating earnings (EBITDA), below the ceiling of 2.5 times it had set for 2025.
Its debt equalled its equity, a ratio of 1.0. The power-transmission group ISA, which Ecopetrol controls, accounts for US$9.05 billion of that debt.
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A different reading
A larger asset base lets the company “make the most of favourable prices”, said Julio César Vera of the Xua Energy Foundation. It also helps it weather periods of low prices, he argued.
Vera said the priority must be more reserves and production, with capital discipline so that new debt turns into output and equity. He questioned recent asset purchases whose returns are still unclear.
He did not rule out asset sales under the new management, on one condition. Proceeds, for example from selling ISA, should fund clearly identified oil and gas projects, not simply the main shareholder.
What comes next
Gutiérrez inherits this balance sheet with Brent crude back near US$100 a barrel, La República noted. Higher prices raise cash flow, which can pay down debt or fund new wells.
The study does not show financial distress, since debt fell in 2025 and the ratios sit within limits. It does show a decade of growth that added more liabilities than equity, leaving less room if prices drop.
Peso figures use the official rate of 3,307.73 pesos per US dollar, valid on 2 October 2026. Dollar figures the company published itself are marked as such.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Ecopetrol?
Ecopetrol is Colombia’s national oil company and its largest firm. The state owns about 88.5% of its shares, and the rest trade in Bogotá and New York.
Is Ecopetrol in financial trouble?
Its own figures do not suggest distress. Debt fell by 10.8 trillion pesos (about US$3.3 billion) in 2025, and gross debt was 2.3 times annual operating earnings, below its 2.5 limit.
What did the study find?
Iara Consulting Group found that liabilities funded about 59% of Ecopetrol’s asset growth from 2015 to 2025, and equity about 41%. It argues that equity has not kept pace with the company’s size.
Who runs Ecopetrol now?
Joaquín Gutiérrez, who managed President Abelardo de la Espriella’s election campaign, took office as Ecopetrol’s president on 28 September 2026.
Sources: La República, Iara Consulting Group analysis, 2 October 2026, Ecopetrol, full-year 2025 results (exhibit to SEC Form 6-K), Financial Superintendency of Colombia, official exchange rate (TRM) for 2 October 2026: 3,307.73 pesos per US dollar. All retrieved 2 October 2026.
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