The El Niño weather phenomenon has meant the highest use of thermal energy generation in Colombia’s history, says the director of Jorge Valencia Marín of the Mining Energy Planning Unit (UPME). However he assures that the grid is working fine, and the historic use is still “normal”.
The Ministry of Mines and Energy (MinMinas) and the Australian Consulate have signed a memorandum of understanding to deepen the relationship between the two governments and encourage an exchange in hydrocarbons matters.
There is no avoiding the discussion: these days we cannot talk to anyone either in or outside of the industry without someone asking “What will happen to Pacific?” We cannot answer that nor we will we speculate. But we can provide some facts and estimates that we think illuminate the risks to total Colombian production in a ‘doomsday scenario’.
The oil industry’s actions to mitigate the fall in oil prices has meant slashed budgets and laid havoc to the goods and services sector. Not even the infamous but powerful Community Action Comittees (JACs) have been left out of the consequences.
The president of the Colombian Petroleum Association (ACP) Francisco José Lloreda sees 2016 as a critical year for structural changes that will make Colombia more competitive. High State take and soaring transportation costs must be addressed.
The Association of Large Energy Consumers (Asoenergia) says a planned regasification plant for Cartagena does little to address the energy issues, and called on the government to follow through with a reform of the distribution of the “reliability charge”.
The Colombian Chamber of Oil Goods and Services (Campetrol) published an analysis of how Ecopetrol’s (NYSE:EC) exploration budget has shifted to market conditions over the last several years, and urged the NOC to step up exploratory efforts and spending.
The Bank of Bogotá produced a report in which it detailed the impact of four different oil price scenarios, and how these would affect the Colombian peso to US dollar exchange rate exchange rate, and as a result, government finances.
The blame game is in full effect, and now the General Controller has said the Cartagena Refinery contractor charged with the cost laden modernization project CB&I (NYSE:CBI) is looking to pull out of Colombia without passing over documents requested by the control entity in an audit of the project.
Former head of the National Hydrocarbons Agency (ANH) and now a university professor in Scotland, Armando Zamora says that communities, the government and the industry must be clear that the oil bonanza has ended, and that we are entering “the third age of oil”.
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