Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) says that the company is still weighing its options regarding unonventional production in the Middle Magdalena Valley, and that it has yet to present a request for the environmental license to proceed with E&P projects.
Gran Tierra Energy (TSX:GTE) has announced a US$310M Capex program for 2015, with a US$156M spending program for Colombia, as the company says it remains flexible to an uncertain price scenario.
This week Colombia’s Congress passed the government’s tax reform measure and it would take a miracle to prevent President Juan Manuel Santos from signing it.
Ecopetrol says its board of directors has approved a US$7.86B Capex plan for 2015. The investment looks to keep production up while focusing on cutting costs, and is a 26% drop in spending compared to 2014. Exploration and unconventional activities took the biggest hit.
The Meta department is home to the lion’s share of oil production in Colombia, which local leaders say make it dependent on the industry and vulnerable to drops in the final price of a barrel. Some are calling for the government to contribute more to agricultural industries to compensate.
The tax reform has been approved by Colombia’s chamber of representatives, and now awaits the signature of President Juan Manuel Santos. The reform looks to address an estimated CoP$12.5T (US$5.2B) shortfall in the 2015 budget.
A survey of experts and managers involved in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programs said that Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) is both the most visible proponent of CSR, and also the most respected.
Whether talking about seismic activities, exploration drilling or overall production, 2014 failed to size up to the projections and goals that the industry and government had established for the year.
The El Morro settlement continues to be a hotspot for community-company conflict which has led to trees blocking roads, while the government agrees to look at projects in Casanare and Huila. Gran Tierra (TSX:GTE) also gives details of a electrical energy project designed to lower emissions in Putumayo. These and other stories related to the environment in our periodic summary.
The pending decision on the future of the Rubiales Field, still Colombia’s largest producer, is running out of time. But while the political decision and momentum to return the field to full Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) control looks clear, the technical requirements of the aging field are not so cut and dry.
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