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Repeated calls for action from national authorities from Barrancabermeja politicians and residents earned them a meeting with Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) president Juan Carlos Echeverry. The NOC chief did not budge on decisions to not modernize the city’s refinery, but said it remains a strategic asset for the firm.

A sharp drop in attendance and calls of protest were two of the main takeaways from Ecopetrol’s (NYSE:EC) annual shareholder meeting held last week. Minority shareholders protest as the board of directors vote to not pay dividends this year. The NOC says it needs a US$50/barrel fuel price to reactivate shuttered fields.

Ecopetrol’s president Juan Carlos Echeverry offered a spirited defense of the Cartagena Refinery (Reficar) and its modernization at the recent Congress of the Colombian Natural Gas Association (Naturgas), highlighting that despite the bad press, the project moves forward and is nearly 100% operational.

A letter submitted to congress from the Finance Ministry (MinHacienda) detailing the government’s stake in Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) and another 29 state owned firms sparked alarms form the recently launched “United for Ecopetrol” as proof the government plans to privatize the NOC. The ministry said it is a routine and legally mandated letter submitted each year.

Unwavered by a formal decision to suspend the modernization of the Barrancabermeja Refinery by Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC), city authorities and unions continue to call for the project. The refinery management has denied rumors that it is currently unsafe and defended the NOC’s priorities.

Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) says that a group of community members protesting a new hiring system –- an alternative to the notorious Community Action Committees (JACs) –- have turned violent and forced contingency measures at the Coveñas port.

Although it has served as a lightning rod for government criticism in Barrancabermeja, Santander, Ecopetrol’s (NYSE:EC) board of directors gave a definitive suspension to plans to modernize the city’s refinery in the 2016-2020 strategic plan.

In Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) 4Q15 results conference call, Cenit President Tomás Rueda revealed that the NOC is working with authorities on a new pipeline tariff scheme. That no doubt pleased his suffering clients.

The initial headline frenzy generated by a General Controller report on budget overruns at the Cartagena Refinery (Reficar) has slowed, as some of the big names implicated in the scandal sound off with their arguments and explanations. We summarize some of the bigger stories.

Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) had been able to escape quarterly losses for much of 2015, buoyed by its transportation business and improved refining results. But its year end 2015 financial results could not escape a global trend of impairment charges from the low oil price, with the NOC posting a CoP$3.9T loss (US$1.23B)