Once governor of the Casanare Department, Jorge Prieto says that the cons outweigh the pros when it comes to allowing oil extraction in Colombia’s regions. The direct benefits, such as royalties, have not reversed problems in producer regions and the industry in the end leaves them more vulnerable. We beg to differ.
The Comptroller General says it has uncovered overcharges in acquisitions of equipment in the San Vicente de Arauca Hospital that totals some CoP$29B (USD15M), all coming from royalty payments.
Oil producer Equion says that a strike of workers expanding its Early Production Facilities (EPF) at its Floreña well could mean losing 3,000 barrels of oil a day from daily production next year if not resolved.
Colombia’s labor minister Rafael Pardo Rueda met with a delegation of political and social leaders from Casanare to discuss the trouble plagued labor relationship between the local community and oil companies.
The USO held another “ethical judgment” session and called on Pacific Rubiales Energy to be expelled from Colombia for what it says are systematic violations of the right to freely form a union and said that it would be setting up an operational commission to specifically monitor its actions.
Following an early August resolution to restrict heavy trucks on Casanare roadways during weekends and holidays, the department’s secretary of public works Wilson Arenas has said in order to consider lifting the restrictions, oil producers must implement a safety protocol.
Members of municipal authorities questioned plans to extend the Carmentea Pipeline near the city of Yopal and accused oil operators in the region of not respecting rural communities and the environment.
After a number of families raised protests against oil producer Cepcolsa and set up a blockade in the access to a local well, company and community officials met to discuss labor and social guarantees in the Sevilla village.
A number of corporate social responsibility (CSR) projects have been completed or announced over the last few weeks which show a more positive side of community and industry relations. Many are too small to warrant a full story, but together paint a picture of how the oil sector’s resources can benefit local communities.
Five Casanare mayors spoke out against seismic testing Ecopetrol has planned for its Odisea 3D project in Casanare, alleging the testing is performed without adequate control and affects water sources and the environment in general.
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