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Ecopetrol (NYSE: EC,) Equión and Ocensa reported on their commitment to the communities of their areas of influence and announced their most recent projects. These and other Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) stories in our periodic summary.

The union denounced the supposed abuses of Parex (TSE: PXT) and Top Drilling towards workers in Puerto Boyacá, and announced that it is discussing the creation of a single mining-energy union.

With the aim of continuing to work for Casanare’s sustainable economic and social development, the Colombian Petroleum Association (ACP) represented by Francisco José Lloreda, and companies with operations in the region, attended a meeting with the Governor of the Department, Alirio Barrera.

Companies like Equion, Terpel, Gran Tierra Energy (TSX:GTE) and Geopark (NYSE: GPRK) announced some of their social investment projects in Colombia. The projects will benefit communities in the departments of Yopal, Casanare and Putumayo, among others. These and other Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) stories in our periodic summary.

For the first time, representatives of the Oil Workers Union (USO,) the Colombian Association of Petroleum Engineers (Acipet), the Technical Institute of Petroleum and Ecopetrol (NYSE: EC) met in the “Unconventional resources: challenges for Colombia” forum, that took place in Barrancabermeja.

The union said that the forum organized by the Colombian Association of Petroleum Engineers (Acipet) hosted opens the door to a much needed dialogue regarding fracking.

The company will focus on investments in four main areas: social development, improving productive capacity, developing sustainable environments and strengthening public management.

Anti-oil and mining referendums continue in different regions of the country and it is affecting mining and oil projects. Arbeláez and Pijao carried out these legal mechanisms to allow or reject the development of the mining and oil industry in their territories. As expected, the results were negative for the sectors.

Through a letter, the governor of La Guajira Weilder Guerra Curvelo, asked Juan Carlos Echeverry, CEO of Ecopetrol (NYSE: EC,) to link the department to the national economy.

The union joined protests of communities in Santander and Meta, and said that Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) must comply with the agreement it has with indigenous communities that live near Campo Rubiales.