The USO has offered up its services as a mediator between the government and U’wa indigenous people to end the occupation of Ecopetrol’s (NYSE:EC) Gibraltar plant.
The General Controller has warned that both national and regional entities must reconsider their finances and plan to limit and correct their dependence on oil resources for public investments, although the central government does not believe investment for regions will be hard hit for now.
The National Hydrocarbons Agency (ANH) has created a standardized set of labor profiles for the hydrocarbons sector, in an attempt to reduce conflicts associated with labor intermediaries.
The U’wa indigenous group which had been blockading the road to the Gibraltar gas plant in Norte de Santander has now entered the facility and forced out 14 workers, the latest escalation in a conflict which has drawn on for 49 days.
The General Controller Edgardo Maya Villazón presented another report on royalty use which he says shows the royalty process changed under the General Royalty System (SGR), but the bad conduct and mismanagement did not. This and other related stories in our periodic roundup.
The oil industry is not the only sector to suffer from constant blockades and protests. Mining projects, electrical lines and new highways have all suffered delays due to an increasing conflictive community relationship.
A new law signed by President Juan Manuel Santos will allow departments to apply royalty funds to bills for additional health care, and cover outstanding debts with service providers and insurers, an area where a number of departments are suffering financially.
Never a group to pass up a good opportunity for a strike, the USO said that it is “combative and present” in the ongoing truckers’ strike.
The Nasa Kiwnas Cxhab indigenous community in Putumayo accused Gran Tierra Energy (TSX:GTE) of desecrating a holy site and exposing its community to risk, and claims that the Ministry of the Interior has not recognized its presence in an area granted an environmental license. UPDATED with commentary by Gran Tierra.
The list of communities taking legal action, through popular referendums, POT zoning ordinances, court actions or other tactics, continues to grow. The latest to join the fray is the Morelia Municipality in Caquetá.
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