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A proposed Meta Refinery has received a new boost as a Colombian-Dominican-Korean Consortium has made a proposal to build the plant with technology specially designed for heavy crude and at a significantly lower price than a previous proposal.

A staff reporter with a national paper gives his colorful account of touring the Cartagena Refinery (Reficar) after its long delayed launch and says that to his layman’s perspective, Reficar might be too big for its own good.

While tankers are often the target of complaints from communities in oil producing regions, the ‘not in my backyard’ mentality is just as strong with pipelines, and the consequences of having the Transandino near the city of Tumaco, Nariño, clearly depicts why.

The Ministry of Mines and Energy (MinMinas) issued a decree (N°2345 of December 2015) that looks to increase the reliability and supply of natural gas in the country and address a lack of infrastructure.

The Puerto Bahia port facility has presented the results of its first six months of operation, in which it says it has exported more than 640,000 barrels of crude on four tankers, as well as 14 ships with general cargo.

In his annual account rendering the General Controller (CGR) Edgardo Maya Villazón said that cost over-runs associated with the modernization of the Cartagena Refinery (Reficar) are one of his main concerns, and that the entity will soon release a report on its findings so far.

The Impala port project in Barrancabermeja, Santander on the Magdalena River will reach full operation in the second quarter of 2016. The operator, Swiss firm Impala Terminals says the terminal is already using the Magdalena River to transport oil and is at 30% of full capacity.

As part of its deal with business sectors of the Caribbean coast, the Ministry of Mines and Energy (MinMinas) is moving forward with plans to hold a tender to build a gas pipeline that will connect the Atlantic coast.

Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) says it has finished a demonstration plant in Chichimene in the Meta Department which uses a technology to lighten heavy and extra heavy crudes, allowing them to be shipped in pipelines while cutting the company’s need to purchase naphtha as a diluent.

After Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) said in no uncertain terms there is no money to modernize the Barrancabermeja Refinery despite outcry from residents, the oil workers union USO has charged that the NOC is planning to sell the unit, which the firm denies.