Faced with falling levels of exploration, production and foreign investment, President Juan Manuel Santos has told fiscal and oil & gas entities to form a group to study tax relief options for the hydrocarbons industry.
After an intervention from authorities and the community itself, the Constitutional Court decided to lift a suspension on production activities in the Ocelote-Guarrojo in Puerto Gaitán, Meta, since the suspension could cause more problem than it prevents.
Municipal council members in San Martín, Cesar have turned to national press to express their concerns on one of Colombia’s few fracking projects, led by ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP).
The president of the Chamber of Oil Goods and Services (Campetrol) Rubén Darío Lizarralde again called on the government for a better response to the industry’s current situation and asked for additonal measures to bolster exploration activity.
The Colombian Petroleum Association (ACP) insisted that the government lower State Take on operators and take further measures to guarantee the industry’s competitiveness, because the only thing for certain, says the association, is that prices will go back up.
A sharp drop in attendance and calls of protest were two of the main takeaways from Ecopetrol’s (NYSE:EC) annual shareholder meeting held last week. Minority shareholders protest as the board of directors vote to not pay dividends this year. The NOC says it needs a US$50/barrel fuel price to reactivate shuttered fields.
The consequences of the fall in oil prices look more severe with each passing month, as producing municipalities have suffered a perfect storm of corruption, poor management, regulatory changes, dwindling royalties and high resident expectations.
The legal representative of 20% of Pacific E&P (TSX:PRE) investors, Jaime Granados, promised legal action in Colombia if company management enacted a debt for share swap which could mean a total loss of value for the company’s shareholders.
Pacific E&P (TSX:PRE) said that it has been formally notified of the Colombian Constitutional Court’s decision to suspend operations near the Venecedor Piriri indigenous community in the Quifa block. It said it would suspend operations in this area, but that it would not materially affect its production.
Colombian press speculates that President Juan Manuel Santos could designate a new Minister of Mines and Energy (MinMinas) this week. But the process to find a replacement to Tomás González in the midst of an energy supply crisis and constant investigations has not proven easy.
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