News and AnalysIs for

The Ministry of Mines and Energy (MinMinas) says that international fuel prices and instability in Iraq have forced fuel prices at the pump upwards for July 2014, while diesel remains stable.

The Minister of Mines and Energy Amylkar Acosta says the government is putting the contraband fuel business in its cross hairs and promises to go after the mafia leading this illicit industry.

The Ministry of Mines and Energy (MinMinas) has prioritized both an expansion of gas coverage and sought to protect that market against increased demand due to the El Niño weather phenomenon, but it has not been enough to guarantee supply for thermal generators.

We think average realized Colombian oil prices could be up as much as 3% when 2Q14 results are reported because Brent and especially WTI have risen consistently.

The delay-plagued modernization and expansion project at the Cartagena Refinery (Reficar) should be finished in December of this year, with an operational start for the 16 new refining units in the second quarter of 2015.

With US$6B in 2013 sales, gasoline retailer Terpel is the second largest company in Colombia by sales after Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC). It is in the middle of a transformation both of its gas stations and its corporate structure.

The General Manager of Llanopetrol, Ricardo Rodríguez Henao, sees a rapid timetable for the Meta micro-refinery project.

The Colombian Federation of Bio-fuels (Fedebiocombustibles) published an analysis criticizing government policies that favor hydrocarbons because they look like they were formulated to benefit Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) and its goals, rather than explore other alternatives like bio-fuels.

The Ministry of Mines and Energy (MinMinas) released fuel prices for the month of June and immediately tried to counter skeptics that would question why the public price of fuel has stayed the same in an election season.

Rainfalls have fell short of expectations to keep hydro-energy on at full, but authorities say that the energy is well shielded against issues that could cause supply shortages, mainly due to a strong supply of gas. However generators do not want to see gas exports to Venezuela resume just yet.