Over the last weekend delegates from 21 municipalities in the southeastern section of Tolima met to discuss the impact of seismic exploration and production activities in the area, which the communities say are causing “irreversible environmental” impacts.
Parex has encountered press resistance to its “Rumba” exploration project in Llanos 26, while NGO’s have nearly received their goal of on-line signatures for a petition to support anti-fracking measures, and an armadillo conservation program shows results. These and other environmental stories in our routine summary.
Supporters of prior consultation processes held a debate in Colombia’s senate, questioning why ministers and the President Juan Manuel Santos himself have “demonized” the process as being solely a way for communities to take advantage of projects taking place near their borders.
The USO has jumped on board with a theory that the government is working behind the scenes to create a scenario that would favor the sale of Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) to private individuals and companies and ruin local economies.
Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) gave a summary of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) projects in Arauca and Casanare, while Amerisur participated in a program that converted families growing coca to pepper crops after 24 years of illicit farming. These and other stories in our regular round up of CSR related stories.
Now two years into the General Royalty System (SGR) the flaws and needed adjustments are clear, and the system must be tweaked to meet the intentions that it had during its conception says Senator Marítza Martínez
The Casanare Government Secretary Marlene Gutiérrez Oropeza said that the Interior Ministry has agreed to a “working road map” to deal with the controversial issue of Community Action Committees and their role in the hiring of local labor.
The president of the Colombian Federation of Municipalities (Fedemunicipios) is concerned about the effect of falling oil prices and what that means for municipal budgets. But royalty distribution and the national government’s ability to use falling prices as a negotiating tool are also high on his list of concerns.
The USO held a number of activities to draw attention to third party outsourcing and the suspension of contracts, as the union looks to increase pressure on the NOC to limit the use of contractors.
The Minister of mines and Energy (MinMinas) Tomás González paid a visit to Yopal, Casanare and outlined the root causes of the drop in oil prices, and also talked about exploration plans to grow reserves and production.
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