News and AnalysIs for

The president of the World Bank Jim Yong Kim said in a seminar held in the presidential palace that Colombia is the best positioned oil producer in the world to successfully deal with the challenges facing the oil industry today.

Senate President Luis Fernando Velasco has again called on the government to lower prices and accept a court ruling from December 2015 which deemed a fuel price stabilization tax from the last tax reform was not properly vetted. He says it would lower the fuel prices by CoP$1000 (US$0.30).

The December MinMinas ‘accentuate the positive’ production press release only mentioned the slight month-over-month increase in December gas production, failing to mention that 2015 finished 5.6% below 2014. Or that, as the graph shows, the trend is decidedly negative.

President Juan Manuel Santos paid a visit to the Caribbean coast and addressed energy costs and supply for the region, which have been creating a stir in national politics. To better address the opportunities and needs, Santos has prepared a ‘road map’ which will lead the way to change.

We have not published our ‘Fracker Tracker’ since early December when news of ExxonMobil’s (NYSE:XOM) application for permission to frack and the signing of an unconventional contract with ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) and Canacol (TSX:CNE) had pushed positive press reports to heights not seen for some time. However, this positive press has melted away as the graph shows.

The National Hydrocarbons Agency (ANH) held a rendition of accounts at the end of 2015 and highlighted the actions of the authorities to adapt to the mounting challenges facing the industry. For 2016 though, its president Mauricio De la Mora said he expects things to be tough and that this is now the new normal.

The UK government, through its Colombian Ambassador, signed an agreement with the National Hydrocarbons Agency (ANH) to cooperate on matters involving offshore extraction, as part of the government’s strategy to add new reserves from its offshore blocks.

The government’s sale of its stake in electrical energy generator Isagen shows that its strategy of selling off important national assets is moving forward, says the USO, warning that Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) will be the next on the list, so the union is calling for national protests.

The National Hydrocarbons Agency has canceled three contracts with Optima Oil and Range Resources for not meeting their contractual obligations and supplying inadequate letters of credit as a guarantee.

The National Planning Department has temporarily suspended royalty payments to 127 municipalities in 25 departments for not supplying information on the advance of royalty projects according to established timeframes. This and other stories on royalties in our periodic summary.