Ecopetrol strike risk eases after CEO exit, union backs off

(Bloomberg) – Colombia’s largest oil workers union dropped a strike threat after Ecopetrol SA’s chief executive officer was removed following a board decision.

The Unión Sindical Obrera, or USO, which represents about 5,000 workers, had warned last month it could strike, saying investigations into Ricardo Roa risked disrupting the company’s operations and strategy unless he left the role.

Ecopetrol said late Monday that Roa, who had led the company for three years, will take a leave of absence until June 28 after a series of lengthy board meetings on his future. Colombia will elect a new president by then, with the winner taking office Aug. 7 and expected to name new leadership at the state-controlled oil producer. Chief Operating Officer Juan Carlos Hurtado will serve as interim CEO. 

“With the board’s decision, any risk to Ecopetrol is dispelled, and obviously so are the protest and mobilization initiatives that we workers had planned,” union head Martín Ravelo said in an interview Tuesday on Blu Radio. “Ecopetrol could go back to its objective of creating value for the country.”

Markets showed little reaction, as investors had largely anticipated Roa’s departure. Ecopetrol shares were little changed, as were U.S.-traded depositary receipts. The company’s dollar bonds edged lower across the curve, with notes due in 2036 trading at their lowest level in a week.

Colombia’s attorney general in March charged Roa with influence peddling tied to the purchase of a luxury Bogotá apartment from an oil executive in 2022. He is also set to face separate charges related to alleged violations of campaign spending limits during Gustavo Petro’s 2022 presidential campaign, which he managed, on Wednesday. Roa has denied wrongdoing.