Rubén Darío Lizarralde, president of the Colombian Chamber of Oil Goods and Services (Campetrol) warned that the Constitutional Court’s recent decisions amount to “a direct attack against the sector and against foreign investment and the productivity of the country”.
The National Hydrocarbons Agency (ANH) published detailed crude oil production results for March and April and that allowed us to update our analysis of shut-in fields.
After a week in Mexico City and another week at the Global Petroleum Show in Calgary, Mexico’s ‘belle of the ball’ status is clear.
Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) is now set to receive the Rubiales field at the end of the month, and has also established its workforce which will staff and operate the field.
Government and Farc negotiators are working in separate sessions until next Monday, June 20th, before starting an intensive round that press reports are billing to be one of the last. Meanwhile President Juan Manuel Santos warned the Farc could resume urban warfare if talks fail.
The Finance Minister Mauricio Cárdenas said that the government does not expect to receive any income from oil industry profits in 2016, and instead will likely face CoP$800B (US$265.4M) in returned taxes for oil companies.
Senate President Luis Fernando Velasco accused the government of charging illegal taxes in its fuel price formula even after they were struck down by a Constitutional Court ruling and alleged citizens are essentially subsidizing Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC).
A question from a subscriber – what is Colombia’s internal demand for crude? – provoked a top-of-mind answer, which is often not the correct answer. We were close but the graph shows the big numbers and the trend.
Attacks by the ELN guerrilla on the Coveñas/Caño Limon pipeline have rendered US$20B in damage to the oil infrastructure and another US$20B in environmental damage in the last 28 years, according to data released by Colombia’s Attorney General’s office.
An urgent agreement is needed to reactivate the oil industry. Colombia might have potential for oil, but it is not an oil country. This must be taken into account when forming competitive strategies to attract investment, said Juan Carlos Rodríguez Esparza, president of the Colombian Oil Engineers Association (ACIPET).
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