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Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) is set to receive the Cusiana field from Equion on July 4^th, and is in talks with the local community to identify social priorities which are aligned with the project.

Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) has signed an agreement with communities which affected its production in Chichimene, in the Acacías and Castilla la Nueva Municipalities, but reports show a willful criminal activity behind the protests, which could flare up again.

A pending wave of privatizations, and not just municipal utility ETB or Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC), is under way, warns the USO after joining another organization which is planning a string of protests to stop this alleged plot.

The National Hydrocarbons Agency (ANH) said it will work more closely with local leaders in identifying and preventing community conflicts with the hydrocarbons industry, as the second phase of its Hydrocarbons Territorial Strategy (ETH).

At least 90 cacao producers from Putumayo participated in a cacao ‘summit’ which took place in the department to debate the future of the industry, made possible with the support of Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC). This and other Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) stories in our periodic summary.

The Constitutional Court issued a ruling that eliminated a law which prohibited territorial authorities from prohibiting mining projects in their areas, but the Minister of Mines and Energy German Arce insists that it does not mean that extractive projects could be affected.

Led by the Barrancabermeja Mayor’s office and Senator Jorge Robledo, the municipality held a its second “Forum for the Defense of Water and Ecosystems” and charged that fracking is the new threat against Middle Magdalena’s water supply.

The USO has joined a group of unions, NGOs and Senators to create the National Committee for the Defense of Public Assets, and said that the first task would be to take legal action against the president of municipal utility ETB, Jorge Castellanos.

A dispute with a corporation of community action committees (JACs) in Acacías has led to blockades, threats against workers and even fuel filled bottles being thrown at Ecopetrol’s (NYSE:EC) drilling equipment which is destined for the Chichimene field.

The president of the Colombian Petroleum Association (ACP) made a trip to Bucaramanga and warned that not bolstering the oil industry will bring serious consequences for the future, and argued that indeed, oil is a part of daily life and should be protected.