Oil pumpjacks are pictured in an Ecopetrol oil field in Barrancabermeja, Colombia October 11, 2024.

Wedoany.com Report-Feb 21, Colombia's Ecopetrol (ECO.CN), booked its biggest increase in proven oil and gas reserves in three years in 2024, rising to 1.89 billion barrels of oil equivalent, data from the majority state-owned company showed on Thursday.

The country's oil and gas reserves have become a hot political topic as concerns over energy self sufficiency amid dwindling gas supplies have taken hold in recent years.

The total proven (1P) reserves for 2024 compares with the 1.88 billion barrels of oil equivalent in 1P reserves that closed 2023, Chief Executive Ricardo Roa said, adding that the proven oil and gas was equivalent to 7.6 years of consumption.

"One of the aspects that produced this improvement in incorporating reserves is due to signing new projects into entry of operation, and with improved recovery," Roa said at a media conference.

Almost 90% of the reserves are in Colombian fields, while 11% are in the company's operations in the U.S., Roa added.

One-fifth of the reserves were gas, Roa said, while the rest was oil.