In November 2010, the Colombian National Hydrocarbons Agency (ANH) granted the Colombian Petroleum Company (Ecopetrol) and the companies Repsol (Spain) and YPF (Argentina) a license to explore and exploit potential sources of gas in two areas of the San Andres Archipelago, Providencia and Santa Catalina. Located in the south-western Caribbean, off the coast of Nicaragua, those islands shelter an important coral ecosystem for the region and were declared by Unesco since 2002 as a Seaflower biosphere reserve (the world's largest network of biosphere reserves on the planet).

The expected environmental impacts of such a project are diverse and start with the exploratory phase during which several wells must be drilled in order to determine its cost-effectiveness. In most cases, the probability of finding hydrocarbon is rather low (one of ten excavations only) and drilling will interfere with the natural resources of the seabed.

In the area is living the Raizal population which, according to the Political Charter of 1991, constitutes an ethnic minority and must enjoy special treatment to ensure the protection of their rights, culture, identity and survival.

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