The president of the Colombian Petroleum Association (ACP) made a trip to Bucaramanga and warned that not bolstering the oil industry will bring serious consequences for the future, and argued that indeed, oil is a part of daily life and should be protected.
The government’s royalty intake was 31.3% lower in 2015 than the year prior, falling to CoP$5.3T, and is expected to continue its fall in 2016. The figure, which comes from the National Hydrocarbons Agency (ANH) is the lowest since 2010. This and other royalty related stories in our periodic summary.
The Colombian government announced that natural gas production for April 2016 fell 2.51% versus March. It provided no explanation.
The drop in spending, shuttered fields and suspended contracts have left many of the industry’s workers without a job, with estimates running between 40,000-60,000 affected individuals. A Colombian consultant in matters of pensions has some advice for those left without work.
The Association of Colombian Oil Goods and Services (Campetrol) said that at a price of US$34.41/barrel, 92% of Colombia’s producing fields yield a netback. The problem however lies in the high regional costs, blockades and now court decisions which cut into the country’s competitiveness.
In the first major regulatory act of the new Minister of Environment Luis Gilberto Murillo, a new council will review the process to award environmental licenses and will no longer look to meet established timeframes for “expedited”, or “express” environmental licenses. The measure could affect licenses which have already been granted.
The Constitutional Court has suspended another project after it ordered the immediate suspension of the construction of a gas pipeline in the Pascacaballos settlement near Cartagena, and ordered the project to hold a prior consultation process with several local groups.
The Minister of Environment (MinAmbiente) Luis Gilberto Murillo has announced the new director of the National Agency of Environmental Licenses (ANLA) will come from within the ministry, tapping the current Director of Climate Change of the ministry, Rodrigo Suárez Castaño.
The fall in oil prices has led to a 13% drop in Colombia’s proven reserves, with 2.002B barrels registered by the Ministry of Mines and Energy (MinMinas). This brings the production/reserves ration down to 5.5 years based on 2015’s average production.
Senator Maritza Martínez has cited several ministers, including the Ministry of Mines and Energy, to a debate to analyze the options for Colombia’s hard-hit oil producing regions, which have seen a serious loss of jobs and investment following the drop in oil prices.
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