National business magazine Dinero reports that the Colombian State Council, a superior court for government issues, declared today that Ecopetrol must pay CoP$1B (US$568,000) for damages from a propane gas pipeline attack in 1991. The attack occurred in the section between Puerto Salgar and Facatativá, in the rural area of the municipality of Albán in Cundinamarca. The explosion and resulting fire from escaped propane damaged agricultural facilities and crops in the surrounding area.
National newspaper El Espectador says that the National Environmental Licensing Agency (ANLA) will implement a so-called ‘express window’ to accelerate the licensing process. For a fee, companies will be able to get expedited processing although there will be no change in requirements. No date was given for the launch of the new process nor was there any indication of what the fee might be.
National business magazine Dinero reports that the Colombian State Council, a superior court for government issues, declared today that Ecopetrol must pay CoP$1B (US$568,000) for damages from a propane gas pipeline attack in 1991. The attack occurred in the section between Puerto Salgar and Facatativá, in the rural area of the municipality of Albán in Cundinamarca. The explosion and resulting fire from escaped propane damaged agricultural facilities and crops in the surrounding area.
According to DANE (as reported by national business newspaper La Republica), exports fell 8.2% in November 2012. Part of this decline was due to a 13% drop in exports of fuels and other extractive industry products, and the decline in the export of beverages, food and agricultural products.
The Territorial Development Finance company (Findeter) is an autonomous corporation reporting to Colombia’s Minister of Finance (MinHacienda). It can raise its own debt (which has a sovereign rating) and receives deposits from government agencies. It then lends this money to municipalities, departments (states) and other entities providing low-cost financing for infrastructure and development projects. The company recently announced its budget for next year. From a Findeter press release, translated and with commentary by Hydrocarbons Colombia.
The Government established a public-private partnership with the Carare Railroad Development Corporation (Corpocarare) and metallurgical coal producer Minas Paz del Río. The route runs through the Central Cordillera where non-conventional hydrocarbons blocks are defined and a few have been assigned.
Orlando Díaz Montoya, manager of Ecopetrol’s Barrancabermeja refinery, spoke to national business paper La República about the modernization project that is moving forward there. According to Diaz, in 2012 the project advanced 12.3% and is now being engineered to join new systems to existing ones. To start this phase requires the purchase of land, logging permits, permits for the connection to the national interconnected system, an Environmental Management Plan and a Port Concession.
The Territorial Development Finance company (Findeter) is an autonomous corporation reporting to Colombia’s Minister of Finance (MinHacienda). It can raise its own debt (which has a sovereign rating) and receives deposits from government agencies. It then lends this money to municipalities, departments (states) and other entities providing low-cost financing for infrastructure and development projects. The company recently announced its budget for next year. From a Findeter press release, translated and with commentary by Hydrocarbons Colombia.
President Santos announced that pending royalties resources will be disbursed in February. The OCAD last year approved CoP$2.1T (US$1.4B) for projects and, according to Santos, “These resources will continue disbursement. Next month all those resources will be disbursed “(as quoted in national business newspaper La Republica).
The climactic phenomenon known as El Niño manifests itself in the Andes as a drought period. Colombia has been threatened by forest fires and there are the usual questions about water levels in reservoirs. The country’s electrical grid is powered primarily by hydro power. In exceptionally dry El Niño years, the level of power generation can drop. The Environment Ministry recently issued a press release, translated here and with commentary by Hydrocarbons Colombia.