Felipe Bayón’s resignation from the presidency of Ecopetrol is bad news for Colombia, since his departure comes at a time of uncertainty regarding the country’s energy future.
Bayón’s management at the head of the Colombian oil company has been highly qualified, not only because of the production figures, but also because processes aimed at obtaining cleaner fuels were implemented under his guidance.
For this reason, it is worrying that the engineer, who is recognized as an authority on hydrocarbons, leaves precisely when the national government is stubborn in prohibiting the exploration and exploitation of coal, gas and oil, since there will no longer be someone in charge of Ecopetrol with the necessary knowledge and authority to oppose the mistaken and dangerous theses of Minister Irene Vélez, who occupies the Mines and Energy portfolio without having the training for it and intends to apply theories based on activism and not on technical knowledge .
Although Felipe Bayón has been discreet when talking about the reasons for his departure from Ecopetrol, there are plenty of reasons to infer that it has to do with the differences in criteria with the national government in relation to the energy transition.
Therein lies the concern, the president of Ecopetrol, who is a hydrocarbons specialist, is leaving, and the Minister of Mines remains, who frequently gives clear signs of ignorance on the subject.
While Bayón leaves Ecopetrol with a technically constructed roadmap to advance in a planned manner towards the transition, which would guarantee the country’s energy sovereignty, what Vélez proposes could lead Colombia to a rapid shortage of fuel, with all that it would imply This is the danger of substituting knowledge for ideology.
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