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National USO representative, José Marín Moreno, spoke about the new government and Ecopetrol’s (NYSE:SE) future, among other issues.

Once again, the NOC showed the benefits of the industry in the country, this time by granting scholarships to Colombia’s best students. These and other Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) stories in our periodic summary.

The oil sector continues to face legal and social uncertainty in Colombia. A ‘judicial battle’ between Ecopetrol (NYSE: EC) and people of Tauramena started several years ago due to the result of an anti-oil referendum, and it seems like this process continues, despite a recent court decision in favor of the NOC.

The union shared the results of the meeting between it and OXY Andina’s contractor firm, Tecnicoriente Well Services and Generation S.A.S.

Official studies show that the Amazon occupies 42.3% of the Colombian territory. Implementing popular consultations in the area is far from easy.

Through a ruling, the Constitutional Court said that popular consultations can no longer forbid or decide on the future of industry activities in the regions. Where do communities stand now?

Better prices should translate into better royalties’ resources for producing regions, but there are other sectors pushing for the money. These and other stories in our periodic Royalties summary.

A decision by the Constitutional Court on Mansarovar Energy’s action for the protection of its constitutional rights (“tutela”) had been widely anticipated. The hope was that it would clarify the issue of whether municipalities can block extractive industry activities. We now have the decision, but questions still remain on the practical implications of the ruling. The situation has been muddied by a State Council decision reaffirming the obligation of local governments to ask their citizens what they think about major issues. We asked Inés-Elvira Vesga and Leopoldo Olavarría of Norton Rose Fulbright for their interpretation of these apparently contradictory decisions. Below are their views:

Once again, industry firms like Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC), Parex and Equion, among others, showed their commitment to their areas of influence. These and other Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) stories in our periodic summary.

The Colombian Oil Association (ACP) and the Chamber of Goods and Services (Campetrol) hosted the “Regional Encounters: united for a sustainable development” event, where they discussed industry issues.