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In ten years Meta’s Puerto Gaitán, located next to the Rubiales field, went from the department’s poorest community to oil boom town, and with the price drop the bubble has apparently burst once again for the local economy.

As the Cartagena Refinery (Reficar) advances, the USO has taken aim at labor conditions and says it has formed a delegation which along with the Labor Ministry will visit the refinery to confirm its accusations.

Falling exploration activity remains one of the biggest concerns for the industry’s long term potential in Colombia, and the reduced goals set out by the National Hydrocarbons Agency (ANH) and the Colombian Petroleum Association (ACP) confirm this.

A decision to freeze royalty funds after the fall in oil prices has the Finance Ministry at odds with departmental leaders, who want the funds to move forward with regional projects.

Comments that the Ministry of Mines and Energy (MinMinas) will face a readjustment of its budget has led to concern from observers who say this could further impact a sector that is already suffering and combines poorly with the fall in exploration.

The Colombian government’s chief negotiator in Havana Humberto de la Calle came forward with a strong statement that the talks are moving forward in Havana, and even put a time-frame on an agreement.

Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) grew its profit for the second straight quarter since its first loss as a listed company in the 4Q14, with refining posting a profit and adding a boost. Production has grown yearly, but fell off slightly compared to the previous quarter.

The Colombian government’s chief negotiator in Havana Humberto de la Calle came forward with a strong statement that the talks are moving forward in Havana, and even put a time-frame on an agreement.

Despite a constant message from the Ministry of Mines and Energy (MinMinas) that a rising price of biofuels has counteracted falling oil prices to keep fuel prices higher, the president of the biofuels association Fedebiocombustibles Jorge Bendeck says its more complicated than that, and increasing the mix would actually drop prices.

Parex Resources (TSX:PXT) saw its production grow slightly in the second quarter of 2015 when compared sequentially, and posted its first profit since the fall of oil prices early this year.