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Talks to reach an agreement between USO members working for CB&I, the contractor in charge of construction of the expansion of the Cartagena Refinery (Reficar) have faltered and the union has called for a member vote to see if it will hold another general strike or take its case to court.

Regulation and PolicyOn the evening of Monday, September 2, 2013 the entire cabinet of President Juan Manuel Santos tendered their resignations, in the height of the agricultural crisis, so that he would be free to name new players if required.

Incidents near areas of interest to the oil and gas industry were back up this week to 29 above recent but below long-term averages. This was a slightly above average week for non-armed forces reported/guerrilla-initiated incidents. The increase caused our 4-week Moving Average incident count to go up to 23.8 but the 52 week average dropped slightly to 36.8 incidents per week.

MinMinas announced August crude oil production was 1,031mbd, yet another record month. But the expectation on August 21^st was for something much higher.

Even with an agreement this week between truckers and the government and formal dialogues with rural workers in Boyacá and Nariño, press reports indicate multiple blockades, located primarily in the departments of Huila, Putumayo and Caquetá.

This week the government of President Juan Manuel Santos looked to build momentum for a proposed referendum in next March’s congressional elections that would open to public vote an eventual peace agreement with the Farc.

Charle Gamba, president of oil producer Canacol Energy (TSX: CNE.T) said that unconventional oil resources have the potential to extend Colombia’s proven reserves to 15-25 years, compared to the 7 years of reserves registered today.

MinMinas announced August crude oil production was 1,031mbd, yet another record month. But the expectation on August 21^st was for something much higher.

GasThe natural gas industry needs to incorporate 30,000 buses and industrial vehicles to natural gas as a way to advance a more ecological alternative to diesel. This would mean growing the share of natural gas powered vehicles (NGV) to 15% in 10 years, compared to 8% today.

Ecopetrol (NYSE: EC) started the second phase of the socialization process for its Odisea 3D seismic exploration project, holding meetings and environmental workshops in three villages in Casanare. Its seismic exploration in the area has come under fire and been blamed in local press for causing damage to the environment, in particular to rivers.