August 10, 2012 On July 30th, Australian company Range Resources Ltd published its 2Q12 operational update. A considerable portion of the document was devoted to its new economic participation agreement with private company Petro Caribbean Resources Ltd “that will see the Company earn a 65% economic interest (option to move to 75%) in Blocks PUT-6 and PUT-7 in return for funding (on a cost recoverable basis) the commitments under the Production Sharing Agreement (“PSA”) with the National Hydrocarbons Agency of Colombia (“ANH”).”
Source: Gran Tierra, Hydrocarbons Colombia NOTE: Colombian production only August 10, 2012
Bottom Line: Events of recent weeks have painfully shown that the country simply doesn’t have enough troops to cover all of its infrastructure. This announcement is very welcome.
With the MinMinas and National Planning Department (DNP) crowing last week about the new royalty distribution system, it was inevitable that there would be a reaction from those less favored.
Colombia’s thermal coal deposits are conveniently located within a few hundred kilometers of the country’s Caribbean coast.
August 4, 2012 The Minister of Mines and Energy, Mauricio Cardenas said Saturday that the government of Juan Manuel Santos will bring domestic natural gas to the city of Pasto, the only capital city without such service. It will take two years.
August 5, 2012 On August 2 2012, Petrominerales wrote that it was “pleased to announce our 2012 second quarter financial results”.
Bottom Line: An oil spill into a waterway from the only well belonging to a little-known operator. Security issues in the zone prevented officials from arriving in a timely manner so most of this article is an extended “not my fault”.
Outside the 2012 Round of new blocks, ANH will auction four unconventional blocks that were taken back from Montco Energy for problems with legal documentation.
Bottom Line: The National Planning Director (in charge of budgeting and planning for the Colombian government and in many ways more powerful than some ministers) corrects some misconceptions about the new royalty system. Only if the distribution of royalties is perceived to be fair and effective will the extractive industries be viewed as positive for the economy, for shareholders and for the country as a whole.
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