of 4.6 billion barrels of shale oil and 18 trillion cubic feet of shale gas. The Cretaceous Gacheta shale in the Llanos Basin is believed to possess a recoverable resource of 0.6 billion barrels of shale oil and 2 trillion cubic feet of shale gas. Those estimates indicate that Colombia has recoverable shale resources amounting to at least 5.2 billion barrels of oil and 20 trillion cubic feet of gas.
This decision allows Ecopetrol to progress with the Kale project which was granted an environmental license by Colombia's National Environmental Licensing Authority in March 2022. It also allows Colombia’s national oil company along with partner Exxon to proceed with the Platero development which is in the process of obtaining the required environmental permitting. There are expectations that the plaintiff will appeal the decision to put a cloud over both fracking pilots.
While this is a particularly positive development for the introduction of fracking in Colombia, which is the only means of ensuring a future for the country’s crucial oil industry, latest election results will stymie any further positive developments. Leftist candidate and senator Gustavo Petro emerged victorious from the June 2022 presidential runoff and he will be sworn in as Colombia’s next president on 7 August 2022.