Parex Resources (TSX:PXT) has installed a series of windmills that are being used to power water supply in the Caño Chiquito settlement, in the municipality of Paz de Ariporo as part of its social investment plan.
Accusations that oil production is destroying local water resources continued to make their way, while a number of oil industry institutions have embarked on campaigns to counter the idea, which is being used to advance the agenda of those opposed to oil. These and other environmental stories from local media.
The president of the National Hydrocarbons Energy Industry Workers Union (Uten) Alejandro Ospina rejected reports that affiliated workers had joined a protest of Pacific Rubiales (TSX:PRE) in Bogotá and said there is an effort to stigmatize the industry.
The National Hydrocarbons Agency (ANH) and the Marine and Coastal Research Institute (INVEMAR) have launched the third voyage of a study of the marine life in the Guajira Offshore 3 (GUA OFF 3) block in the Colombian Caribbean.
The director of the National Hydrocarbons Agency Javier Betancourt says that the exploration and production contract for the VSM-13 block, located along the Las Ceibas river will not go forward and that Pacific Rubiales (TSX:PRE), who holds the contract through an acquired subsidy Alange Energy, wants to end the concession.
The use of oil, gas and minerals finder technology (OFT) which harnesses satellite imagery to identify mineral content has been in Colombia for around three years, but technology suppliers say that it is only recently gaining interest for exploration.
A panel of authorities and experts led by the Vice-minister of Energy Orlando Cabrales participated in a seminar organized by the Colombian Petroleum Association (ACP) to highlight a number of policies designed to better communicate environmental practices and facts with the community in Casanare.
During the debate on the Casanare drought in Colombia’s Senate, the Minister of Mines and Energy (MinMinas) Amylkar Acosta addressed accusations that oil production is depleting water resources in Casanare and addressed the increased seismic activity in Puerto Gaitán, Meta, saying that scientific research must confirm the causes.
The drought in Casanare continues to draw headlines even if rains have reached the region. Relating oil production to the problem has become a convenient fact for the anti-oil lobby.
Senator Martiza Martínez, a regular critic of the oil industry in Colombia’s senate, says that oil companies should stop receiving tax benefits due to the damage she says that exploration and production activities do to the environment, and that a new “green tax” should be created as well.