The earnings statement of Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) confirmed that the Asian market and Far East is now well installed as the prime receiving market for Colombian crude, and the Ministry of Mines and Energy says the trend is true for the mining industry as well.
Our list of corporate social responsibility projects (CSR) over the last two weeks has been dominated by Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC), who has made a splash in local press through a series of different initiatives and projects. A cynic would say, “it must be an election year”, an optimist, “good job”.
The much anticipated and debated future of the Rubiales field appears to have a day of reckoning ahead, with local press saying a decision will be made in June on the future of its production contract, currently operated by Pacific Rubiales Energy (TSX:PRE).
President Juan Manuel Santos visited Villavicencio, Meta, delivered the environmental permit approved by the National Environmental Licensing Authority (ANLA) last week and promised support for the Llanos Refinery for Meta’s capital.
Following another round of talks in a process that have stretched for more than 2 years, involving departmental and national government intervention, 10 oil operators signed an agreement with a group of local transportation firms. The number pales in comparison to the 48 oil companies operating in the department, and the largest: Pacific Rubiales (TSX:PRE) and Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) did not sign.
The USO took to protesting in Bogotá last week, setting up protests in front of the offices of Pacific Rubiales (TSX:PRE) to call for the reversion of its contract with Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) in an activity that the union claims involved several hundred protestors from the community of Puerto Gaitan, home to the Rubiales field gathered to reject the operation and protect against “an environmental disaster”.
Incidents near areas of interest to the oil and gas industry were up to 39, above recent and long-term averages. Non-Armed-Forces-reported incidents were more than double in both percentage and absolute terms. This is our indicator of increased guerrilla-initiated activity. Our 4-week Moving Average incident count was steady at 35.0 but the 52 week average was down at 31.1 incidents per week.
Colombia total production was down 4mbd sequentially. Now that some of the major players have reported, the winners and losers are becoming clearer.
The oil industry is interested in continuing to invest in Colombia, but three principal factors – licensing, attacks and blockades — are making an already complex process even more difficult and threatens the economic potential that the industry could generate, says the president of the Colombian Petroleum Association Alejandro Martinez.
Farc leader and negotiator alias “Jesús Santrich” told reporters that the parties are “three or four paragraphs” away from an agreement on the illegal drug trade, as another round of talks started this week in Havana.
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