Agencia Nacional de Hidrocarburos

The Agencia Nacional de Hidrocarburos (ANH) is the Colombian government body responsible for the regulation and oversight of the country’s hydrocarbon sector. Its core functions include granting exploration and production licenses, monitoring compliance with technical, safety and environmental standards, and supervising the execution of contracts between the state and private operators. The agency also provides technical guidance on resource management, collects and analyses data on oil and gas activities, and ensures that operations adhere to national legislation and international best practices. By acting as the intermediary between the state, investors and local communities, ANH seeks to balance economic development with environmental protection and social responsibility.

The agency’s headquarters is situated in Colombia, although the specific city is not detailed in the available sources. As a national regulator, its jurisdiction extends across the entire Colombian territory, covering both onshore and offshore hydrocarbon activities. While the source material does not disclose quantitative metrics such as staff size, annual budget or the volume of reserves under its purview, it is clear that ANH operates as a central authority for the sector. Its role places it at the interface of government policy, industry operations and environmental stewardship, requiring coordination with multiple ministries, regional authorities and industry stakeholders.

ANH’s distinguishing attributes stem from its specialised focus on hydrocarbons and its status as a government environmental regulator. This dual mandate was highlighted in August 2022 when the hacktivist collective Guacamaya leaked over two terabytes of the agency’s internal emails and documents, a breach that also affected several mining firms and other environmental oversight agencies across Central and South America. Guacamaya cited opposition to resource extraction and pollution as its motivation for the attack. The collective noted that it had previously released 4.2 terabytes of similar materials that revealed corporate pollution evidence and manipulation of local governments in Guatemala. The leaked data were published on Enlace Hacktivista and mirrored by the transparency group DDoSecrets, underscoring the sensitivity of the information managed by ANH. The incident illustrates the agency’s handling of substantial volumes of confidential correspondence and its involvement in matters that attract both national and international scrutiny.