Colombia’ lower house held a debate on the progress of the Barrancabermeja Refinery, which the local mayor says is close to getting an official start after prolonged delays. The matter will be brought up in an Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) board meeting in June.
President Juan Manuel Santos addressed the stalled peace process this week, saying in an interview with Spanish media that if he is reelected, a peace agreement could be signed by the end of the year.
Pacific Rubiales Energy (TSX:PRE) reported its results from the first quarter 2014, and even though its flagship Rubiales field felt a drop in production, it managed to keep its total production figures on the rise, a sign the firm’s leadership says demonstrates a more diverse production base.
Some of the stories involving Colombia’s new and controversial General Royalty System (SGR) over the past weeks included evidence of improper royalty use in the Arauca and Coveñas municipalities, a dispute between governors and the central government leads to a cancelled OCAD session and MinHacienda say there are regional entities that have forgotten to bill for approved projects.
MinMinas recently released the country’s reserve estimates for crude oil and natural gas for YE2013. The biggest questions are around sustainability for gas.
The departments of Arauca, Norte de Santander and Putumayo have felt the brunt of guerrilla attacks in 2014. As of April 28th, there have been 39 attacks on those departments, while Casanare and Meta face the greatest effect of social conflicts.
Gran Tierra Energy (TSX:GTE) kept its production in Colombia and other markets in South America relatively flat in the first quarter 2014 compared to last year despite pipeline complications and a dependence on trucks. The average realized price took a hit though, and both revenues and profits for the firm slipped.
Ecopetrol has started this year’s process to hire ground transportation, in Meta the governor says a special route will be designated for tankers and Huila-Putumayo leaders met to discuss transportation issues. Meanwhile a number of accidents and spills caused delays in Casanare and made headlines.
The use of oil, gas and minerals finder technology (OFT) which harnesses satellite imagery to identify mineral content has been in Colombia for around three years, but technology suppliers say that it is only recently gaining interest for exploration.
In order for Colombia to achieve self- sufficiency for its own oil supply, an important and dramatic discovery of reserves must happen this decade, otherwise keeping along current trends the reserves logged would not supply the country past 2018, according to a government report.
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