Faced with falling levels of exploration, production and foreign investment, President Juan Manuel Santos has told fiscal and oil & gas entities to form a group to study tax relief options for the hydrocarbons industry.
After an intervention from authorities and the community itself, the Constitutional Court decided to lift a suspension on production activities in the Ocelote-Guarrojo in Puerto Gaitán, Meta, since the suspension could cause more problem than it prevents.
The Ministry of Mines and Energy updated its fuel prices for April 2016, and announced a drop for diesel and an increase for gasoline starting April 5th. Just four days prior, the ministry said there would be no change to prices for April but also said that might change.
Following an armed strike by the Clan Úsuga paramilitary group last week, the Farc have demanded the government do more to combat these groups, and say that the issue is stalling process in Havana.
Municipal council members in San Martín, Cesar have turned to national press to express their concerns on one of Colombia’s few fracking projects, led by ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP).
The president of the Chamber of Oil Goods and Services (Campetrol) Rubén Darío Lizarralde again called on the government for a better response to the industry’s current situation and asked for additonal measures to bolster exploration activity.
The Colombian Petroleum Association (ACP) insisted that the government lower State Take on operators and take further measures to guarantee the industry’s competitiveness, because the only thing for certain, says the association, is that prices will go back up.
Community objections on local hiring practices in Barrancabermeja have fueled several conflicts with companies recently, despite prior agreements and leading to a suspension of activities at the La Cira Infantas field. These and other stories on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in our periodic summary.
A sharp drop in attendance and calls of protest were two of the main takeaways from Ecopetrol’s (NYSE:EC) annual shareholder meeting held last week. Minority shareholders protest as the board of directors vote to not pay dividends this year. The NOC says it needs a US$50/barrel fuel price to reactivate shuttered fields.
The consequences of the fall in oil prices look more severe with each passing month, as producing municipalities have suffered a perfect storm of corruption, poor management, regulatory changes, dwindling royalties and high resident expectations.
2026, Hydrocarbons Colombia, All Rights Reserved.
