For almost a decade the Andean country of Colombia has been battling to significantly boost its low proven petroleum reserves and lengthen the production life of its economically vital oil industry. After a dearth of major oil discoveries, with the last mega oil discovery being the Caño Limon oil field in 1983 by Occidental Petroleum , the central government and the Colombian Association of Petroleum (ACP-Spanish acronym) believed that fracking could provide a viable solution. There have been numerous attempts by Bogota and the Colombian petroleum regulator, the National Hydrocarbon Agency (ANH-Spanish acronym), to launch unconventional oil exploration and production in the Andean country. In 2008 the regulator issued a study to identify the potential for unconventional hydrocarbon deposits in Colombia. By 2012, the Andean country had an environmentally permitted hydraulic fracturing project operating in the department of Boyacá. Then in 2013 and then 2014 the central government issued […]