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Ecopetrol (NYSE: EC) announced the resumption of operations at the Gibraltar gas plant in Toledo, Norte de Santander, after seven days of protests.

Ecopetrol has raised alarms about possible gas restrictions after members of the Movimiento Político de Masas Social y Popular del Centro Oriente de Colombia (MPMSPCOC) seized control of the Gibraltar gas processing plant on November 24.

The Ministry of the Interior (MinInterior) launched a free, self-managed virtual course on the right to prior consultation, available to Indigenous, Rom, Afro-Colombian, Raizal, and Palenquera communities, as well as the public.

This phrase of Clausewitz comes to mind this month as Mordisco gets more “stick” than in recent months while others, including the ELN, get offered “carrots”. Meanwhile, the Segunda Marquetalia’s alias Ivan Marquez has not returned anyone’s calls for month so the press speculated he was dead. High Peace Commissioner Otty Patiño assures us he’s just resting.

At the VII Oil and Gas Summit, the consulting firm Jaime Arteaga y Asociados presented the sixth edition of the Petroleum Barometer, a comprehensive study that tracks public perceptions, concerns, and expectations regarding Colombia’s oil and gas sector.

The ELN process is suspended! No wait. We reported that last month. But this month, Petro confirmed it. He’s given up on them. Still old news. The process with the Segunda Marquetalia almost fell off the rails but the two sides will meet now in Cuba. Didn’t we say that before? Maybe. Or something similar. The Clan? No change? Mordisco? Still blowing things up? Calarca? Not clear.  Yesterday’s news.

Frank Pearl, president of the Colombian Oil and Gas Association (ACP), stands on the front lines of the industry’s relationship with the fervently anti-oil government of President Gustavo Petro. Pearl had just passed his one-year anniversary and Petro his second, so recently, I dropped by the ACP’s offices for a visit. I asked Frank where he saw the industry and where the association was going.

The Fourth Labor Court of Santa Marta issued a ruling mandating Ecopetrol, the Ministry of Mines and Energy (MinEnergia), Petrobras (NYSE: PBR), and the National Environmental Licensing Authority (ANLA) to halt all gas exploration and extraction activities at the Uchuva 2 well in the Tayrona block.

Ecopetrol (NYSE: EC) announced significant operational disruptions caused by a series of recent events, including the ongoing truckers’ strike, attacks on critical oil pipelines, and the takeover of a key gas plant.

We came across the National Planning Department’s detailed royalty budget for 2023 – 2024 (a two-year budget) and a bit of analysis got us thinking about what drives the allocation. The simple pie-chart illustrates some of the key points but we did some more sophisticated work to show the main levers.