In a stark reminder of the human cost behind global energy supply chains, British oil majors are scrambling to reassess a combined £2bn investment in Colombia as the country’s decades-long civil conflict reignites with chilling ferocity. The decision to suspend operations in key ‘peace zones’ – areas once deemed safe for foreign capital after the 2016 Farc peace deal – threatens to devastate local economies that had begun to rely on steady wages from multinational employers.
‘The security situation has deteriorated dramatically,’ a senior industry source told this newspaper. ‘We cannot guarantee the safety of our workers or the integrity of our infrastructure. It’s a heartbreaking step, but we have a duty of care.’ The source spoke on condition of anonymity given the sensitivity of the matter.
The review centres on two major projects: BP’s seismic exploration in the Catatumbo region, and the expansion of a pipeline operated by a consortium including Shell. Catatumbo, a coca-growing stronghold, has seen fierce clashes between dissident Farc factions, the ELN guerrilla group, and paramilitaries. At least 40 people were killed last month in attacks that targeted local trade union leaders and community activists.
For the communities that laboured on these projects, the pause is a hammer blow. José Antonio, a welder from Tibú who worked on the BP site, told me: ‘My family depends on this money. Without the oil work, we have nothing. The state is not here. The guerrillas are. We are caught in the middle.’ His voice broke as he spoke.
The situation underscores a brutal reality: the ‘peace dividend’ promised by the 2016 accord has proved fragile and deeply unequal. While the oil giants could withdraw, local workers cannot. ‘These companies will survive. They can move capital elsewhere,’ said Julia Martinez, a labour rights organiser from Medellín. ‘But the people here have nowhere to go. The conflict is returning, and they are left to face it alone.’
Britain’s Foreign Office has updated its travel advice, warning of ‘high risk of kidnapping, terrorist attacks and armed robbery’. Yet campaigners argue that London must do more to protect workers connected to British firms. The Charity War on Want has called for mandatory human rights due diligence for all UK companies operating in conflict zones.
‘We are seeing a catastrophic failure of the peace process,’ said Dr. Alice González, a Colombia analyst at the University of Essex. ‘Foreign investment was supposed to provide an alternative to the drug economy. If the oil companies go, those jobs vanish, and people have no choice but to return to coca cultivation or join armed groups to survive. It’s a vicious cycle.’
The industry insists the review is temporary. ‘We are committed to Colombia for the long term,’ a BP spokesperson said. ‘But we must be realistic about the security risks. We will resume operations as soon as conditions allow.’
For families like José Antonio’s, ‘soon’ cannot come quickly enough. As the sun set behind the Cordillera Oriental, he packed his tools, uncertain whether he would ever use them again. The British boardrooms may deliberate, but the cost of this conflict is being counted not in pounds, but in lives torn apart.
This is the real economy: where the price of a barrel of oil is measured against the price of a human life. And right now, the price is too high.