The USO is digging in for a fight with Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) over its use of contractors and their labor, and said the NOC is unwilling to discuss extending benefits for direct workers to its outsourced employees.
Senator Maritza Martínez promised to work with the central government and ensure that producing regions receive more royalty resources, as their share is lower than non-producing regions in the biannual budget.
It has been over a year and four months since a Farc attack on the Transandino Pipeline spilled more than 410,000 gallons of oil into the bay of Tumaco in Nariño, and now residents accuse the government of doing little to remedy their situation. This and other environmental stories in our periodic summary.
Equion has reached an agreement with the presidents of 18 Community Action Committees of the El Morro settlement and created a “manual of coexistence” in order to form a set of rules and guidelines to build a more constructive relationship. This and other Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) stories in our periodic summary.
The USO said that it has started a review of its collective bargaining agreement with Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC), two years after signing the latest labor accord with the NOC, but made no mention of its plans to hold a company-wide strike.
Among the proposals sent to the National Planning Department (DNP) as part of the royalty budget discussion by the Colombian Petroleum Association (ACP) is a mechanism to penalize communities whose frequent protests paralyze the oil industry.
Ecopetrol’s (NYSE:EC) 2016 competitive round will sell off around 20 smaller fields to outsider bidders, and a report from Huila unveils some of the local concerns that this plan is causing.
The Ministry of Mines and Energy (MinMinas) gave an update of the funds awarded as part of its “production incentive program” which awards municipalities for meeting production goals. In 2016 the ministry has awarded CoP$90.6B (US$27.4M) to projects. This and other royalty related stories in our periodic summary.
The USO will be one of several unions and political parties that are planning a nationwide action on October 27th to protest the government’s pending tax reform and its alleged consequences.
The Ministry of Environment (MinAmbiente) said that it has formed a special committee in Putumayo which will mitigate the effect of “inadequate practices of hydrocarbons production”. The committee includes 13 mayors and local authorities and institutions.