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The State Council ruled against Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) and said that an administrative ruling that stemmed from a public referendum against oil activities in Tauramena was not its business, and rather it should be decided by a different court. Local press have labeled it as a win for the residents opposed to exploration and production activities.

The government is mulling changes in the organization of the entities which approve royalty projects, the OCADS, to encourage large scale, high-impact initiatives instead of small scale, local pet projects, and to address a trend of stagnated advances. This is “contrary to the philosophy” of the royalty reforms, officials say. This and other royalty related stories in our periodic round-up.

After nearly a month and a half after the exit of Tomás González, President Juan Manuel Santos has named Germán Arce as the new Minister of Mines and Energy (MinMinas).

It took only a matter of days before public backlash surrounding the awarding of an environmental license near La Macarena, Meta had boiled to the point where public officials, even the President, were offering explanations and suspending licences. But the revelations and consequences continue to file in.

In a matter of a few days, a blizzard of controversy over an environmental license to proceed with an E&P project near a natural reserve in La Macarena, Meta forced explanations from authorities and an eventual suspension announced by President Juan Manuel Santos.

The Delegate Controller for the Environment insists that the Cartagena Refinery (Reficar) only has an environmental license for “internal” transport of industrial coke which does not include shipping it in trucks to the port, and said it must request a new license.

Following on his order to study tax breaks for the oil industry, President Juan Manuel Santos has now called on sector entities to study a reduction in pipeline rates to boost the industry’s financial standing.

The National Hydrocarbons Agency (ANH) is defining the final terms of its “Permanent and Dynamic Area Assignment” plan and then will send it for review to the Superintendence of Industry and Commerce (SIC), so that the parameters will be ready by the end of the month. The first “mini-round” would then occur at the end of May or latest by June.

Government officials from Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela, Bolivia and Mexico met to discuss cooperation and craft a common message ahead of an OPEC meeting on April 17. Colombia was represented by the Minister of Mines and Energy Lorena Gutiérrez.

The Llanos Orientales and the Meta Department in particular lead the country in royalty irregularities according to an audit performed by the General Controller (CGR) in the second half of 2015.