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Colombia’s Regulatory Commission of Energy and Gas (CREG) has opened the possibility of exporting gas and building a US$400M liquefaction plant on the Caribbean cost, says Promigas president Antonio Celia.

Colombians might be paying at the pump, but Colombia’s Mines and Energy Minister Amylkar Acosta says the country cannot afford to put Ecopetrol’s (NYSE:EC) financial stability at risk, and that as long as crude prices remain high, gas will follow.

Colombia scored high marks for the competitiveness of its energy sector according to two international studies which also took into account access to energy and how compatible energy policies are with environmental challenges.

Once a proposal surrounding the environmental management plan of the Barrancabermeja refinery is approved by the National Environmental Licensing Agency (ANLA) is passed, Ecopetrol’s (NYSE: EC) board of directors can approve the next step of the project.

UPDATED — Colombia’s Supreme Court has ruled the current pricing scheme in which the presidential administration smooths prices is unconstitutional. Instead any mechanism should fall to congress. Meanwhile the Liberal Party pushes the new mines and energy minister to study a decrease in fuel prices.

In order to combat illegal fuel sales of Venezuelan fuel in Colombian territory, Venezuelan authorities have agreed to increase fuel prices and restart sales along the common border in La Guajira Department.

Government negotiators and the truckers union reached an agreement last week that stops the blockades (caused by truckers) and gets goods moving again.

Ecopetrol’s president Javier Gutiérrez says that the NOC’s refining business is already operating at a lost in some cases and a drop in the final price between CoP$1000-2000 would mean losses for the company around US$1.75B.

The price of fuel has emerged from the ongoing national strike as a central theme for discord. One proposal is to rehash the formula used to figure fuel prices and reduce taxes. Greater user of pipelines to transport crude also arose as a option.

After a meeting between the members of the Finance, Mines and Energy and Transport ministries with the Colombian Truckers Association (ACC) the government has recognized the trucker’s national strike and found its demands to be valid.