Cases / Oil, gas and coal operations · Colombia · 2018–2021
Ecopetrol Lizama well blowout (Colombia)
Nature's voice · report
In March 2018 oil came out of the Lizama 158 well; about 2,400 animals died, according to a Colombian press report.
Did nature suffer? Yes. Harm is on record.
What the record lacks: 2 insufficient See the gaps
A blowout at Ecopetrol's Lizama 158 well in March 2018 was followed by a regulatory fine. The fine was cut on appeal; a press report puts the number of animals killed at about 2,400.
About 2,400Animals reported dead after the Lizama 158 well oil outcrop
Reported figure from a secondary source (El Espectador); the ANLA resolution could not be checked against the original.
Reported figure from a secondary source (El Espectador); the ANLA resolution could not be checked against the original.
Status As of the 2021 second-instance decision: ANLA fine reduced to COP 3,863 million; no later development in the sources reviewed.
What?
A blowout at the Lizama 158 well, described as an oil outcrop, followed by a regulatory fine. El Espectador
Where?
Lizama 158 well, Colombia; the El Espectador headline refers to a spill into the La Lizama creek (quebrada). El Espectador
When?
March 2018 (incident); January 2020 (first-instance fine); 2021 (second-instance decision). El Espectador
Who?
Gained
None on recordLost
- Ecopetrol — Fined COP 5,155 million, reduced to COP 3,863 million on second instance. El Espectador
Harmed
- Animals at the site — About 2,400 died (reported). El Espectador
Why?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
How?
The sources describe a well blowout / oil outcrop; no technical cause is given. El Espectador
6 of 6 questions answered from the record
What happened
The record, in order.
In March 2018 the Lizama 158 well, operated by Ecopetrol in Colombia, had a blowout, described in the sources as an oil outcrop. A Colombian press report puts the number of animals that died at about 2,400.
Colombia's licensing regulator, ANLA, fined Ecopetrol COP 5,155 million in first instance in January 2020 over the incident. On second instance, in 2021, the fine was reduced to COP 3,863 million. The amounts were reported by El Heraldo and El Espectador; the ANLA resolution itself could not be checked against the original.
The sources reviewed give no statement by Ecopetrol on the incident or the fine, and no cause for the blowout.
- 2018March: Lizama 158 well blowout / oil outcrop; about 2,400 animals reported dead
- 2020January: ANLA fines Ecopetrol COP 5,155 million in first instance
- 2021Fine reduced to COP 3,863 million on second instance (February, per El Espectador)
How it looked
What was shown, beside what was recorded.
Shown
- Ecopetrol appears among the 'Corporate Supporters' of the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) on its website; the page shows logos only, with no tiers, no wording per company and no date.WCS website · Wildlife Conservation Society
- Ecopetrol is listed among the corporate members of a nature-disclosure task force (TNFD) in a members list reviewed by the research team.Members list (source not identified in the sources reviewed)
- ECOPETROL S.A. is listed as a signatory of the Business for Nature call to action, in the tier of companies with revenue above US$1 billion.Business for Nature signatory list · Business for Nature
Recorded
- March 2018: Lizama 158 well blowout; about 2,400 animals died (secondary source).
- January 2020: ANLA fine of COP 5,155 million in first instance over the Lizama 158 well oil outcrop of March 2018.
- 2021: fine reduced to COP 3,863 million on second instance.
In court and with insurers
Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.
Lawsuits and rulings
- 2021-02Reduced on appealCOP 3.86bn Fine after second instance, in COP millions (first instance: COP 5,155 million, January 2020)ANLA sanction proceedings against Ecopetrol over the Lizama 158 wellANLA (National Environmental Licensing Authority), first and second instance · Administrative · ANLA → Ecopetrol
ANLA fined Ecopetrol COP 5,155 million in January 2020 over the March 2018 Lizama 158 well oil outcrop; on second instance in 2021 the fine was reduced to COP 3,863 million. El Espectador
Insurers
No insurer decision on record.
What nature saw
Outcomes measured on the ground, and nature's note.
Nature's report opens this page. Below: further outcomes measured on the ground.
Animals reported dead
About 2,400
Press report (El Espectador); species not on record
Fine, first instance
COP 5,155M
ANLA, January 2020
Fine after second instance
COP 3,863M
ANLA, 2021
What we don't know
Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.
Record
- Insufficient Reported but not independently verified: the fine amounts and the 2,400 animal figure come from press reports (El Heraldo, El Espectador); the ANLA resolution could not be checked against the original.
- Insufficient Reported but not independently verified: the month of the second-instance decision (February 2021, per one press report; the other source gives 2021 only).
Did the harm stop?
Who paid?
ANLA fined Ecopetrol COP 3,863 million after second instance (2021).
Sources
Voices on record: — Company or project— Government and regulators— Courts✓ Press and investigations✓ Communities and civil society— Researchers
Press and investigations
- Ecopetrol multada con más de 3.800 millones por derrame en quebrada La LizamaEl Espectador · 2021-02
Communities and civil society
- Corporate Supporters (logos only; no tiers or date)Wildlife Conservation Society ·
- Call to Action signatoriesBusiness for Nature ·
Connected cases
Related matters, and cases linked to this one through the same organisations, with the role each played in both.
- Cerrejón coal mine ruling (Colombia) Colombia · 2019
- ANLA (National Environmental Licensing Authority) (Public authority) — here: Licensing regulator that imposed the fine; there: Colombian licensing regulator
- Kahuzi-Biega National Park: Batwa evictions and killings DR Congo · 1975–2024
- Wildlife Conservation Society (NGO) — here: Conservation organisation listing Ecopetrol among its corporate supporters; there: Funder, then park manager from April 2022
- Report says a man died after ecoguard beating in Republic of the Congo park Republic of the Congo · 2017
- Wildlife Conservation Society (NGO) — here: Conservation organisation listing Ecopetrol among its corporate supporters; there: conservation NGO; no response found in the sources reviewed
- Tobacco groups' diversification into oil, food and shipping United States · 2005–2026
- Wildlife Conservation Society (NGO) — here: Conservation organisation listing Ecopetrol among its corporate supporters; there: Conservation organisation; trustee role documented
- Verra suspends three REDD+ schemes in Brazil's Portel over public land overlap Brazil · 2023–2025
- Ecopetrol (Company) — here: Operator of the Lizama 158 well; fined by ANLA; there: Buyer of credits from the Portel schemes
- WWF independent review (Pillay panel) and US funding suspension International · 2019–2020
- Wildlife Conservation Society (NGO) — here: Conservation organisation listing Ecopetrol among its corporate supporters; there: Grantee under US review
- WWF-funded ranger units accused of torture and killings in Asia and Africa Multiple countries · 2006–2023
- Wildlife Conservation Society (NGO) — here: Conservation organisation listing Ecopetrol among its corporate supporters; there: Took over management of Kahuzi-Biega park in April 2022