Ecopetrol Takes Control of Brava Energia for US$521 Million

Colombia’s finance minister Germán Ávila Plazas resigned, effective 7 Aug 2026, with President Gustavo Petro’s term ending. Miguel Gómez Martínez will replace him. Gómez says spending must be cut by at least 1% of GDP (about COP$20 trillion or US$6.2 billion) and puts the total fiscal deficit at 7.8% of GDP vs 5.5% by the outgoing government.

Ecopetrol S.A. said its Brazilian unit completed an auction for a voluntary tender offer to buy about 25% of Brava Energia S.A. (116,110,717 shares) at R$23.00 per share on B3. Settlement and payment are due Aug. 17, 2026, with Ecopetrol Brasil also set to buy additional shares to reach about 51% voting control, financed initially via a New York-law bridge facility.

Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) reported Q2 production of 706,000 boe/d and said output was disrupted by environmental and electrical issues, including deferred volumes up to 23,000 boe/d at CPO-09, Castilla and Chichimene. Management kept its full-year target at 730,000 to 740,000 boe/d. First-half net income was COP 9T, with COP 6T free cash flow and COP 6T dividends.

Colombia · Business Ricardo Roa Ecopetrol ended his tenure as president of Colombia’s state-controlled oil giant on July 30, 2026, a swift exit that followed a brief return from a leave of absence. The departure is part of a sweeping board and management overhaul at the country’s largest company. A Short-Lived Return to the Presidency Ricardo Roa formally left the presidency of Ecopetrol on July 30. He had only resumed his duties three days earlier, on July 27, after a period of leave.

The article says Houthi threats are expanding Red Sea disruption, leading tankers to reroute and pushing ICE Brent above $91 per barrel. It cites Saudi Aramco shipping record crude volumes from Yanbu and Bloomberg reporting Aramco loaded 5.9 million b/d in the week to July 17. It also notes attacks affecting Caspian Pipeline Consortium loadings and other energy-company updates.

Ecopetrol S.A. said its Brazilian unit resumed a voluntary tender offer on B3 after publishing revised terms incorporating CVM recommendations. The offer seeks 116,110,717 Brava Energia S.A. common shares, about 25% of Brava’s capital. The OPAV runs until Aug. 5, 2026, subject to regulatory and other conditions.