News and AnalysIs for

A timely workshop organized by MinMinas investigated crisis management for the hydrocarbons industry, presumably directed at the ongoing issue of community blockades. This is becoming a serious issue for many companies, more serious perhaps than the guerrilla so the ministry picked the right priority. From a MinMinas press release, translated and with commentary by Hydrocarbons Colombia.

This month we have an opinion piece by the ACP’s Alejandro Martínez, interviews with Talisman’s Chris Spaulding and Enbridge’s John Gerez, an amazing fact about Venezuelan oil revenues, our opinion on the chances of success of the current peace process and we update our Colombian stock price indexes.

Santiago Angel Urdinola, VP of Mining, Oil and Energy, of national business persons association ANDI gave a speech where he suggested that the country might experience shortages and rationing by 2019. This got Naturgas – the association that represents natural gas distributors, transporters and producers – upset and they issued this press release. Translated and with commentary by Hydrocarbons Colombia.

The USO continues to publish stories that Ecopetrol is not paying contractors (and so the contractors are not paying their workers). This week Ecopetrol workers at the Chichimene station held a work stoppage in sympathy.

MinMinas is usually pretty economical with its press releases (unfortunately for those of us who need to publish content on the Colombian hydrocarbons industry). Here they use one to announce an internal committee. From a MinMinas press release, translated and with commentary by Hydrocarbons Colombia.

As reported by El Tiempo, about a thousand plants among anthurium, cacti, ferns, orchids and bromeliads that were at risk because Bicentennial (OBC) pipeline construction, were transferred to the ecological reserve La Marteja (Casanare) and the natural park Los Libertadores (Arauca). The plants were collected along 230 km thanks to the initiative of the “Fotosíntesis” organization, the Sicim Colombia Company and OBC.

Pacific Rubiales has hooked up with Colombian pop singer Shakira to contribute to the construction of a school in Cartagena. Subsidiary Pacific Infrastructure is constructing a new crude export port in the Caribbean coastal city. From a Pacific Rubiales press release, translated and with commentary by Hydrocarbons Colombia.

In an interview with Portafolio, Fernando Gutierrez, Bicentennial pipeline manager, said that after two years of construction, the pipeline will be operational in July this year and will be filled with 1.2M oil barrels; according to Gutierrez: “This is more than the production of a day. It is the largest pipe that has been made in the country.”

Counts were up again to 35 which 10% above the recent average and just slightly below the long term average. Our 4-week Moving Average incident count was steady at 33.8 incidents and essentially so was the 52 week average at 36.9 incidents per week.

El Nuevo Siglo published an article about the consequences of fuel theft in the country. According to the article, this phenomenon generates economic, human and environmental losses.