Ecopetrol continues its publicity campaign about local employment and procurement. This time it is the turn of employment, highlighting how many jobs the company creates and how many are filled with local people. With local hiring being a developing community issue, this Ecopetrol press release is timely. Translated and with commentary by Hydrocarbons Colombia.
Petrominerales announced its 2012 results this morning and had its conference call at 10:00 am Eastern. At the close, the share price in Toronto was down 8.4%. The company declared a Net Loss of US$54M in 4Q12 versus a profit of US$77M in 2011. For the year the company turned a profit of US$102M but that was 69% less than in 2011. The problem was production which was down 29%. This was offset by higher oil prices and better netbacks so funds from operations were only down 18%. As the graph shows, additions to reserves were minimal meaning 1P (proven) reserves are down 15%.
The National Environmental Licensing Agency (ANLA) has not been helped by the poor data it acquired from the Ministry of Environment when the agency was formed. Since then it has been working hard to fill in the gaps with environmental baseline studies and geo-referencing IT investments. We reported on this project when it was as the consultation stage. From an ANLA press release, translated and with commentary by Hydrocarbons Colombia.
Talisman published its annual guidance for 2013 as a consequence of its annual investor open house. Although the company is looking to divest assets with longer-term payoffs, it seems to like its Colombian properties, giving them prominence in the presentation and directing significant CAPEX to 2013 activities in the country. The company also highlighted its investment in Ocensa, which has recently changed its business model from a cost center to a profit center, but this is one of the assets which Talisman would consider selling.
Business magazine Dinero reports that the government and thirteen mining companies in the country (among them Cerromatoso, Paz del Río, Anglo Gold Colombia, Drummond, Carbones del Cerrejón, Anglo Gold Ashanti, Grancolombia Gold and Prodeco) signed an agreement to fight against poverty in their areas of influence. The companies pledged to work with 3,521 families from the Red Unidos in 30 municipalities.
National business magazine Dinero reported that despite the country achieved an average production of 1,011,992 bpd; the priority now is to find oil reserves. Reserves in Colombia are of 2.259M barrels, which virtually allow a production for four or five years; however, according Amylkar Acosta, member of the board of Ecopetrol: “On average, in the world, the relationship between production and reserves is for a horizon of 10 years. But in Colombia, in 2012, that equation has declined for the fourth consecutive year, as production increases faster than the amount of reserves.
As business newspaper La Republica reported, the Panamanian company Petro Rubiales Corp., a subsidiary of Pacific Rubiales, acquired the majority of shares (50,19%) of the also Panamanian company, Pacific Infrastructure Inc. Petro Rubiales Corp. invested a total of US$2,207,802.85 for 2,324,003 shares at a value of US$ 0,95 each. Thus, Pacific Rubiales gained control over Pacific Infrastructure Inc.
The coffee-growers strike has inspired the truck-drivers’ union to declare a strike and block key north-south routes. Colombia’s refinery capacity is all in the north and yet there is significant population and demand in the south. The Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME), has coordinated fuel transportation alternatives supported by the Colombian Air Force (FAC), to supply the regions that have been affected by road blocks in the south.
Ecopetrol has invested in the Ventures contest which encourages entrepreneurship and innovation. The contest spans a wide range of economic activities but Ecopetrol has chosen to invest in the Education and Culture component for the past two years. The connection with the oil and gas is secondary but the cause is worthy. From an Ecopetrol press release, translated and with commentary by Hydrocarbons Colombia.
This Ecopetrol press release details the company’s local procurement activities by region. Local procurement has become an issue because the communities in which oil and gas companies operate have lost line of sight to the benefits having hydrocarbons activity in the vicinity. The costs – like roads clogged with tanker trucks – are readily apparent but since the reform of the royalties distribution system, only local procurement is a sure route to jobs. Translated and with commentary by Hydrocarbons Colombia.
2025, Hydrocarbons Colombia, All Rights Reserved.
