News and AnalysIs for

The Ministry of Mines and Energy (MinMinas) reported gas production figures for January 2019. Natural gas has been showing a positive performance in recent months.

As we published last week, the MinMinas think-tank and research bureau, UPME, published a long document on energy prices just before Christmas. We have picked a few charts we think are interesting.

Global warming has generated many debates and the need to reduce the participation of coal in the energy matrix has been one of the main discussion topics. Colombian authorities created a carbon tax, joining the global trend. Orlando Cabrales, President of Naturgas, spoke on this topic and gave some suggestions to change it.

With better weather in Bogotá – it is not raining too much – it seems clear that we are heading into another El Niño weather phenomenon. That means drought and less hydroelectric generating capacity, which, in turn, should mean more demand for natural gas.

The government recently announced its National Development Plan (PND), which according to senator Guillermo García (Liberal Party), will have a negative impact on the country’s middle class.

Antonio Celia, Former CEO of Promigas, decided to retire from the company after a 25-year career. Eric Flesch took over the company’s management four months ago and he talked about key issues such as goals and regulatory challenges.

Rodolfo Anaya talks about the firm’s opportunities and challenges in Colombia, three months after taking office as Vanti’s President.

It is early January and time for my annual look ahead. The working title for this piece is always “Fearless Forecasts” but this year I am rather fearful.

High fuel prices anger Colombians and affect the performance of several economic sectors in the country. Colombia is looking at alternatives to confront this situation and the Colombian Propane Association (Gasnova) gave some recommendations.

The low levels of oil and gas reserves have generated concerns in Colombia and the lack of exploratory activity has increased these worries. María Fernanda Suarez, Minister of Mines and Energy (MinMinas) spoke about the government’s plans for the industry and its future.