News and AnalysIs for

GasThe Ministry of Mines and Energy (MinMinas) published official production figures for May 2017 and we will focus on gas this time. The statement was minimalist without any attemptto explain production behavior for either crude or gas.

Francisco José Lloreda, president of the Colombian Petroleum Association (ACP) said that exploration should be encouraged, and for this to happen it is essential to overcome legal uncertainty.

Geopark (NYSE:GPRK) is in the excellent position of operating LLA 34, one of the very few good-sized oil blocks that is still growing, still having new discoveries (along with partner Parex (TSX:PXT)).

An environmental emergency took place in the Sirivana village, in the municipality of Nunchia (Casanare,) where apparently old pipelines from the company Perenco Colombia Limited caused an oil spill over a large water stream.

Ecopetrol (NYSE: EC) has big plans for the Gulf of Mexico; the Company participated in Round 2.1 and won two blocks. The company has high expectations for the results of its projects in Mexico.

Colombia wants to leverage the navigability of the Magadalena River but authorities expect large investments will be needed to achieve it. Ecopetrol (NYSE: EC) and Cormagdalena announced an agreement to invest in this important river.

USO Orito and USO Barranquilla representatives said that they are actively working towards improving local hiring conditions in oil producing regions, and met with representatives of oil companies and local authorities to find solutions to the issue.

There are huge concerns about the consequences of recent popular referendums and their fast growth in Colombia. Germán Espinosa, Executive President of Campetrol, wrote an article about this problem in La Republica.

A former Farc member was captured in Costa Rica while transporting cocaine, and the ELN kidnapped two Dutch journalists in Norte de Santander.

According to the results of the Yopal Economic Perception Survey (EPE,) published by the Chamber of Commerce of Casanare (CCC,) 90% of the department’s entrepreneurs reported lower sales compared to 2015.