Country profile: Colombia

Colombia has faced decades of political and economic struggles, much of it linked to narcotics trafficking and civil war. Since taking office in August 2002, President Alvaro Uribe has enacted political, fiscal and social reform policies, combined with increased security measures in order to promote economic growth and stability. The policies of the Uribe administration have had some success in improving economic conditions and the security situation in the country. There has been a substantial reduction in the number of attacks against Colombia’s energy infrastructure. However, while the security situation has improved, Colombia's longstanding civil conflict has taken its toll on the country's energy sector, with the country’s pipelines and power lines still experiencing occasional sabotage by insurgent groups.

Colombia is a net petroleum exporter, though declining production at its mature fields threatens to turn the country into an oil importer in the medium term. The Colombian government has implemented a partial privatization of state oil company Ecopetrol in an attempt to revive its upstream oil industry. Colombia is also an important producer of high quality coal. Because Colombia relies upon hydropower for the bulk of its electricity needs, it is able to export almost all of its coal production, making it one of the world’s largest coal exporters.