Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) projects have been hit hard by the fall in oil prices and the continued closure of wells and projects. In Santander authorities say over 2,500 jobs have been lost and in Casanare well closures spark concern. These and other CSR-related stories in our periodic summary.
The initial headline frenzy generated by a General Controller report on budget overruns at the Cartagena Refinery (Reficar) has slowed, as some of the big names implicated in the scandal sound off with their arguments and explanations. We summarize some of the bigger stories.
The Minister of Mines and Energy Tomás González offered his resignation, taking the political blame for not enacting measures quicker to prevent potential energy rationing. However, his resignation comes after the opening of a formal investigation into contracts associated with his wife’s company.
It did not take long for the commentary to start on the exit of the Ministry of Mines and Energy Tomás Gonzalez, who said he was leaving and taking the blame for not acting quickly enough to avoid possible energy rationing.
The Constitutional Court Decision on projects and the prior consultation process in Orito Putumayo and Puerto Gaitán, Meta have put the legal certainty of extractive projects in limbo, and more decisions are expected.
The National Hydrocarbons Agency (ANH) board of directors has approved regulatory changes to how it will assign blocks, and reports suggest it has taken into consideration at least some of the observations from the Colombian Petroleum Association (ACP).
Drawing parallels to the Cartagena Refinery, the USO has turned its attention to the delays and problems that have plagued the construction of an ethanol plant by Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) subsidiary Bioenergy.
Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) had been able to escape quarterly losses for much of 2015, buoyed by its transportation business and improved refining results. But its year end 2015 financial results could not escape a global trend of impairment charges from the low oil price, with the NOC posting a CoP$3.9T loss (US$1.23B)
Ecopetrol says that it has tapped Fernán Ignacio Bejarano Arias, who has worked with a number of public entities and boards, as its new legal vice president.
It will not be official until May 2016 but with Ecopetrol’s reserves announcement this week, it seems to us that Colombian oil reserves will drop over 10% to something under 2,100 mmbl.
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