Summary

Colombian President Gustavo Petro ordered state-run oil company Ecopetrol to cancel its joint venture with U.S.-based Occidental Petroleum (Oxy) over environmental concerns.

The $880 million project in the Permian Basin, set to produce 90,000 barrels per day, involved fracking, a practice Petro strongly opposes. He urged reinvesting in clean energy instead.

While Colombia bans domestic fracking, this marks the first time it has blocked an overseas fracking deal.