Led by the Minister of Mines and Energy Tomás González and the Minister of Environment Gabriel Vallejo, the government defended potential fracking projects in Colombia against critics in Colombia’s lower house.
This month, our exploration of Mexico continues with an article on the new regulatory framework. Our guest commentator is Valerie Dourdin of the International Migration Organization who has much experience dealing with the kind of social problems arising from the sudden development of a new project.
The Colombian military has already called off its operations in the Chocó Department around the area where kidnapped General Rubén Darío Alzate is set to be liberated this Saturday by the Farc.
With oil prices falling, investment for new projects from foreign investors is being pinched, which will leave its mark on Colombia and the country’s ability to compete for attention in a market where supply overwhelms demand.
With the proposed tax reform inching closer to final approval in the congress, the Colombian Petroleum Association (ACP) has expressed its concern that the changes will drive away investment dollars and interest in Colombia for hydrocarbons investment.
The fracking debate had been quiet for nearly 2 months with articles dwindling down to nearly zero. Now things seem to be heating up again, ahead of a National Hydrocarbons Agency forum next week.
Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) is planning to detail its investment plan for 2015, and, with a falling oil price, its Capex budget will have to drop, as speculation swirls around what other measures the NOC might have to take because of the new price scenario.
Over the last weekend delegates from 21 municipalities in the southeastern section of Tolima met to discuss the impact of seismic exploration and production activities in the area, which the communities say are causing “irreversible environmental” impacts.
The Cartagena Refinery (Reficar) project is nearly ready, but not finished yet. The general advance is at 97.6% and construction is at 92.7%. Plus authorities now say that a parallel project to expand the Barrancabermeja Refinery must wait in line for Reficar to finish first.
Colombia remains an attractive investment destination for international hydrocarbons firms says the Ministry of Mines and Energy (MinMinas) Tomás González, who also touched on the role of oil in government finances and the balance of reserves to production.
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