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After a hearing ordered by the municipal council of Simacota, Santander, Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) and Parex Resources (TSX:PXT) have clarified that the participation agreement and nearby project does not involve any unconventional techniques like fracking

The challenge for Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) over the last year and a half under Juan Carlos Echeverry has been to guarantee its cash flow, cut costs and maintain disciplined in its spending, but now the firm can turn the page and start to focus on production.

Two fields in Meta previously closed by Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) due to the fall in oil prices will now be brought back online at some point in the next month and a half.

The Superintendent of Industry and Commerce has opened an investigation of Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) and a suppliers association in Meta, based on accusations of forming a cartel to control the production and distribution of construction materials destined for the oil industry.

As Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) closed an intense six months which included the operational launch of the Cartagena Refinery (Reficar), the handover of Cusiana and Rubiales and a management restructuring. The firm reported that during the second quarter its production has faltered but its financial results improve on the first quarter of the year.

Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) has started the process of naming a new president for the Cartagena Refinery, with an international headhunt expected to bring an executive with precise knowledge of the petrochemical market and refining operations.

Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) has announced that the Gunflint field has started producing 20,000bd, of which its US subsidiary has a 31.5% share, and the NOC highlighted the strategic nature of this sort of asset.

Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) has proposed moving its Lorita-1 well, part of an exploration project, due to concerns from residents in the Municipality of Guamal, Meta. The NOC said that the project will go forward, although it has been discussed now for over three years.

The first warnings that Ecopetrol’s (NYSE:EC) honeymoon after taking over the Rubiales field could be coming to a close have emerged. Community groups are complaining that few of the NOC’s contractors have socialized their projects with locals, and want a greater focus on local hiring.

Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) and the national government reached an agreement with the U’wa indigious community which allowed NOC personnel to restart and secure the Gibraltar Gas plant after weeks of U’wa occupation.