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Ecopetrol’s (NYSE:EC) president Javier Gutiérrez said that the Asian market is emerging as a key receiver of Colombian oil while the US increases its self sufficiency in energy matters, and says the country is competitive in the Orient.

Talisman Energy (TSX:TLM) says that following advances in environmental licensing and exploration activity in the blocks CPE-6 and 9, the firm expects Colombia to form an important part of its operation looking forward.

After questions from the Meta Department that the reported production of some foreign oil operators is lower than reality, the National Hydrocarbons Agency (ANH) says it is increasing its monitoring efforts to guarantee and accurate production number, which is used to formulate royalty payments.

Pacific Rubiales Energy (TSX:PRE) says that it has received the environmental license from the National Environmental Licensing Authority (ANLA) for exploration and production activities in the CPE-6 and Guama E&P blocks, following several extended delays.

Inhabitants near municipalities of Castilla La Nueva, Acacías and Castilla say that Ecopetrol’s (NYSE:EC) crude processing station Chichimene continues to contaminate their water supply while the NOC says its addressing the situation.

Pacific Rubiales Energy (TSX:PRE) says it has reached a preliminary agreement to negotiate a five year sales and purchase agreement of 500,000 tons of liquefied natural gas (LNG) with Gazprom Marketing & Trading (GM&T).

The Governor of the Meta Department Alan Jara told local press that the department, along with other oil producing regions, have lost autonomy under the new royalty system and are not benefiting from the industry’s activities.

Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) topped the rankings of the most admired company by opinion leaders in an annual Opinion Panel survey. Meanwhile, a business publication speculates as to how much each share of the NOC will pay at the end of 2013.

GasThe first round of bilateral negotiations between natural gas producers and their clients and supply chain partners has come to a close, leaving the price at US$3.8 per million BTU, a US$2 drop from the existing price from the La Guajira field.

The vice president of the USO’s Meta chapter, Dario Cardenas Pachon, was arrested on November 2 on a warrant connected to alleged crimes during protests, and the union says that its part of a wide reaching plot between oil companies and public services against its activities.