News and AnalysIs for

An article in a respected business magazine suggested that oil and gas companies would soon be trying to attract tourists and grow vegetables. But really it was about Campetrol’s program to help rural areas affected by the decline in jobs, CSR and direct royalties.

As the situation around Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) installations gets more complicated, the USO finally received its first request, a meeting with Ecopetrol’s president and his senior team.

Colombia’s watchdog on corporate activity, Supersociedades, studied 53 companies from the oil and gas sector and concluded that 23 or about 40% were at a high risk of declaring bankruptcy.

Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) president Juan Carlos Echeverry says that the NOC has more austerity measures coming, but that thus far there are no mass layoffs planned. He also said fracking must continue to be an option.

After a Farc attack on an army patrol left 11 dead, President Juan Manuel Santos ordered the armed forces to resume their attacks and operations against the guerrilla.

In order to lower its costs in the current oil price scenario, Pacific Rubiales Energy (TSX:PRE) is taking measures to get better value out of its light and medium crude and sell at a higher price.

The Bolsa Mercantil de Colombia (BMC) held its official launch to mark its role as the “Amazon” of the natural gas market. No mention was made of the political forces who have been successful in circumventing the open market when it comes to pricing.

Yesterday we asked where Colombia’s supply of gas was coming from and today’s graph gives a hint.

Ecopetrol releases a summary of its investment projects in Villavicencio and Meta, and also invests in helping local coffee producers make a better cup of joe. These and other stories on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in our periodic summary.

The floating regasification plant that Promigás is building through a port consortium (El Cayao) has been completed, but the remainder of the plant awaits an environmental license to get started.