Hocol’s plan to drill an exploration well in La Macarena in the CPO-16 block is churning up community opposition, and company representatives allege that there are activists feeding the community with bad information to increase resistance.
The last two weeks have seen a number of high profile oil spills due to attacks on pipelines, overturned tankers, flooding and damaged road infrastructure. These and other environmental stories in our periodic summary.
A municipal hearing was held in San Juan de Arma as anti-oil advocates call for the National Agency of Environmental Licenses (ANLA) to revoke the licenses it has granted to Hocol in the nearby area.
The Casanare Governor Alirio Barrera laid down a criticism of oil companies, which he said have taken advantage of the department, but have little interest in helping in times of crisis. The Colombian Petroleum Association (ACP) responded that operators needed a concrete plan.
Looking to end a surge of strikes in Putumayo, the Ministry of Environment (MinAmbiente) said it will lead in creating an “inter-institutional committee” for the department. The ministry said it was to deal with “inadequate hydrocarbons practices,” but its statement talked exclusively about illicit crop eradication.
Leadership of the USO met with the Labor Minister Clara López and urged the official to step in as a mediator between the national government, the union and Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) management, ahead of a possible union strike in October.
The formal date for the signing of the peace agreement has been set for September 26th, days ahead of the scheduled October 2 plebiscite. The signing ceremony will take place in Cartagena. Meanwhile the Farc have suspended a conference to discuss the agreement within their ranks.
Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) said that an average of 20,300 people worked on its projects in the first half of 2016 through its network of contractors, and up to 87% of these workers were local hires. This and other Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) stories in our periodic roundup.
The Minister of Mines and Energy Germán Arce warned that there is a potential that groups with interests in illicit activities have taken to industry blockades negotiate specific demands, and these should not be confused with traditional anti-oil protests.
The Colombian Chamber of Oil Goods and Services (Campetrol) performed a survey among its members and found that between January and May of 2016 blockades and strikes led to lost daily production of 9,000bd.
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