In the latest advance from Havana, government and Farc negotiators announced that they have reached an agreement on both transitional justice and victim restitution.
Equion Energy president María Victoria Riaño said that the company is passing through a complex moment and is finishing a round of layoffs to cut costs. She also lamented the slow progress and community problems that prevented seismic exploration during the boom times when prices were high.
After a necessary change in the rules, which allowed individuals access to the recently-opened Mexican oil market, and after two disappointing Round One auctions, the third phase was held yesterday (December 15, 2015). All 25 available contracts were awarded, making it is the most successful round so far.
Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) says that it will deepen its spending cuts and austerity program and reduce its investments in 2016 to US$4.8B, in a plan that looks to keep production at a similar level of 2015.
For the first time, The National Planning Department (DNP) held an awards session to recognize the best use of royalty funds in an initiative called “Well Invested Royalties”, with top honors going to a governor and three mayors. This and other royalty related stories in our periodic summary.
Both Promigás and Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) have received recognition for community programs and innovation, while the NOC says it has also successfully finished a number of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programs in Huila and Nariño. These and other stories on CSR in our periodic summary.
Illegal mining and the clearing of lands for grazing has been fingered as a main cause for deforestation, while in Casanare a number of community conflicts are brewing over environmental issues. These and other environmental stories in our periodic summary.
The Colombian Petroleum Association released the results of a study on investment trends and found that the tax reform of 2014 has led to a poor investment climate which has resulted in a 28% fall in CAPEX in 2015 when compared to the year prior, with exploration taking the biggest hit.
After much fanfare the Minister of Mines and Energy Tomás González announced that authorities had reached an agreement with lawmakers and industry delegates from the Caribbean coast that would mean no new price increases for natural gas, to the dismay of gas producers. But now it emerges that the magic formula is in fact, optional.
The USO has taken up a new argument to criticize Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC), now accusing the NOC of weakening safety controls and covering up injuries and fatalities during the modernization process.
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