The USO held elections last week on November 28 and 29th to elect its national representatives. No results have been released thus far, but the union did accuse Cartagena Refinery (Reficar) contractor CB&I (NYSE:CBI) of threatening workers resulting in a low turnout.
The Meta governor Alan Jara rejected the work pace of the OCAD entities, those which oversee, approve and pay for projects involving royalty funds, and accused them as being not more than a centrist tool to administer the funds.
An environmentalist group (La Mesa Hídríca del Piedemonte) which focuses on water issues in the Meta Department, has gathered and submitted 20,000 signatures rejecting oil production work in the nearby Lorito 1 well, in the Guamal municipality.
Incidents near areas of interest to the oil and gas industry were up 12% this week at 28 but still below recent and long-term averages. Non-Armed Forces incidents were slightly above the long-term average. This is our indicator of increased guerrilla-initiated activity. Correspondingly, our 4-week Moving Average incident count was down to 29.0 and the 52 week average was down at 32.9 incidents per week.
This month the centerpiece is a debate between Pacific Rubiales José Francisco Arata and environmentalist Juan Pablo Ruiz Soto on the issue of whether extractive industries are incompatible with sound environmental management: well worth reading.
Estimates from Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) are that upcoming phases of the current modernization work at the Barrancabermeja Refinery will employ up to 5000 people at its peak of activity in 2014.
A forum organized by social activist Ólder Alexis Cáceres on conflict and policies on natural resources claims hydrocarbons reform to protect natural resources is a must for lasting peace. Resources must be protected from profit-driven private industry, activists argue.
Senator Maritza Martínez said during a senate debate that the environmental and social damage caused by exploration and production in Arauca, Casanare and Meta are a cause of concern and create the need for public referendums like the one scheduled in Tauramena, Casanare.
This week the discussion of the illegal drug trade, the third agenda point in the roundtable in Havana got off to the start, with the Farc arguing that the problem is not the coca crops, it’s the cocaine trade.
The Colombian Association of Truckers has staged a blockade in Casanare, demanding that Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) and Pacific Rubiales (TSX:PRE) favor local truckers over regional or foreign providers and pay a standby fee for waits incurred prior to loading.
2025, Hydrocarbons Colombia, All Rights Reserved.
