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In the Huila Department local highway police figures have found a sharp increase in the number of accidents involving tanker-trucks. In 2012 there were only three such accidents reported, while in 2013 that number spiked to 19, more than six times greater.

Following elections last November, the USO has a new president, Edwin Castaño Monsalve, who replaced Rodolfo Vecinos as the head of the union’s national leadership. Castaño looks to expand the USO’s reach towards sub-contracted workers and like his predecessor, has his sights set on Pacific Rubiales (TXS:PRE).

A recurring topic, the Minister of Mines and Energy (MinMinas), Amylkar Acosta Media said that advances in training facilities in Meta will mean oil companies no longer have a valid excuse to not hire labor from the local communities.

While 2013 marked a continued transition to the new royalty system and a year of approving projects using these funds and adaptation, 2014 will be the year of execution and seeing the money at work, says the director of the National Planning Department (DNP) Tatyana Orozco de la Cruz.

Following up on a pilot program to subsidies the purchase of gas in cylinder the Ministry of Mines and Energy (MinMinas) says that the subsidies are ready to be claimed by for those who have qualified for the program in select municipalities.

The USO has launched into a sustained campaign calling for the release of several members detained for alleged public order crimes during the end of 2013. The union will hold a rally at the headquarters of Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) and accuses the oil sector, led by Pacific Rubiales (TSX:PRE), of targeting its organization.

A Casanare land owner is accusing Lewis Energy Colombia of working outside the bounds of its environmental license, which she says has affected a local river and flooded her land, and that the company has also been under reporting its production, while one report suggests the dispute is about compensation for production rights on her land.

Following a blockade that limited access to the Rubiales field by local truckers that want a larger role in the transport of crude, Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) has announced a new contractor selection process designed to open opportunities for local suppliers.

Senator Maritza Martínez criticized the government’s failure to address land right issues in the Llanos and sounded off on environmental issues, many of which she says stem from mining and hydrocarbons production. Tauramena should be seen as a wake up call for the government and environmental authorities, she argues.

A required step to implement large scale projects for the hydrocarbons industry and beyond, prior consultations are becoming an obstacle to new projects rather than a forum for dialogue. In 2013, numbers from the Interior Ministry confirms the process fails to produce an agreement 67% of the time.