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A decision by the Constitutional Court on Mansarovar Energy’s action for the protection of its constitutional rights (“tutela”) had been widely anticipated. The hope was that it would clarify the issue of whether municipalities can block extractive industry activities. We now have the decision, but questions still remain on the practical implications of the ruling. The situation has been muddied by a State Council decision reaffirming the obligation of local governments to ask their citizens what they think about major issues. We asked Inés-Elvira Vesga and Leopoldo Olavarría of Norton Rose Fulbright for their interpretation of these apparently contradictory decisions. Below are their views:

Alberto Carrasquilla, Minister of Finance (MinHacienda), and Maria Fernanda Suarez, Minister of Mines and Energy (MinMinas), presented the draft royalties’ budget for the period 2019-2020 in the Congress, to kick-off the discussion of its approval. Oil contributions are key in this budget.

The Constitutional Court’s ruling in favor of Mansarovar is still generating reactions among political sectors. Here are the details.

The investigation into the scandal of the Cartagena refinery (Reficar) continues to advance. The Attorney General’s office and Nicolas Isaksson Palacios, former legal head of Reficar reached an ‘agreement’.

Oil theft has become a headache for Ecopetrol’s (NYSE:EC) finances, but the Police was able to capture one of the bands that operated in Buenaventura (Valle del Cauca). The development of these and other stories in our periodic Security summary.

The National Agency of Environmental Licenses (ANLA) announced a new website to consult geographic and regional information. This project was developed in conjunction with the Sub directorate for Measurement, Licenses and Environmental Procedures (SIPTA).

Better prices seem to bring a more promising panorama, but if the NOC wants to leverage this opportunity, it will have to resolve issues associated to fuel theft first.

The National Hydrocarbons Agency (ANH) is going through a transformation process with the goal of improving its services and operational metrics.

Once again, industry firms like Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC), Parex and Equion, among others, showed their commitment to their areas of influence. These and other Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) stories in our periodic summary.

The Colombian oil sector continues to face several social and legal challenges to operate in the country, despite the change of government and its attitude in favor of the extractive industries. A new controversy has been generated with an oil license in the department of Putumayo.