Colombian Presidential Candidate Valencia Backs Fracking for Gas

Presidential candidate Paloma Valencia said Colombia should put oil and gas back at the center of its energy policy, and called for hydraulic fracturing to address a widening natural gas deficit.

President Gustavo Petro, whose term ends in August, pursued a green agenda that sought to wean the nation off fossil fuels, including a ban on new drilling contracts. That exacerbated a domestic gas shortage, forcing Colombia to import costly liquefied natural gas.