The 2017-18 budget for the General Royalty System has passed through its first debate in the joint Senate and Lower House economic commissions, but the debate did uncover many of the complaints against the system and its results.
Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) has handed out scholarships for rural residents to take on university studies, and distinguished 16 national initiatives with its innovation awards for 2016. These and other Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) stories in our periodic summary.
The two largest hydrocarbons-producing departments, Meta and Casanare, get special attention from national and regional media regarding their share and use of royalty funds. Both have a number of what DNP calls ‘critical’ projects.
The Colombian Oil Engineer Association (ACIPET) said that focusing on the established resources and potential exploration projects must also include an effort to better inform communities and counter misinformation being given about oil activities.
The ongoing debate on the General Royalty System (SGR) and its upcoming budget has consolidated the primary criticism of the system: it fails to create any meaningful, large scale projects for Colombia’s region.
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.
2026, Hydrocarbons Colombia, All Rights Reserved.
