The Colombian Chamber of Oil Goods and Services (Campetrol) wants the government to create a special “single window” for the oil industry that would handle all of the processes and requests associated with the licensing and socialization process.
The 2017-18 budget for the General Royalty System has passed through its first debate in the joint Senate and Lower House economic commissions, but the debate did uncover many of the complaints against the system and its results.
Controversy over ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) project in Cesár has brought unconventional technologies back into the press limelight and the balance has not been positive.
During the recent debates on the 2017-2018 royalty budget, Centro Democratico Senators Ivan Duque and Oscar Darío Pérez complained that most projects were subscale and so lacked impact. With the data we collected for our recent long article on fairness, we had the information necessary to look at the question.
Even though Colombia has natural gas reserves which are set to last for another six years, if no new discoveries are made then imports to cover national demand would have to start in 2018 due to problems in the distribution and transportation of gas.
The Ministry of Mines and Energy (MinMinas) has confirmed that 18 companies -12 from the hydrocarbons industry- will participate in the second Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (EITI) report which will cover income and payments made in 2014 and 2015.
The two largest hydrocarbons-producing departments, Meta and Casanare, get special attention from national and regional media regarding their share and use of royalty funds. Both have a number of what DNP calls ‘critical’ projects.
The Colombian Oil Engineer Association (ACIPET) said that focusing on the established resources and potential exploration projects must also include an effort to better inform communities and counter misinformation being given about oil activities.
The ongoing debate on the General Royalty System (SGR) and its upcoming budget has consolidated the primary criticism of the system: it fails to create any meaningful, large scale projects for Colombia’s region.
The Minister of Environment Luis Gilberto Murillo said his ministry and other authorities are preparing a report on hydrocarbons exploration in La Macarena which could affect some of the blocks in the region, although those with an environmental license should be able to still explore.
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