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The Colombian Chamber of Oil Goods and Services (Campetrol) has called on the government to allow the delay of tax payments as another measure to support oil companies impacted by the low price of oil.

The initial headline frenzy generated by a General Controller report on budget overruns at the Cartagena Refinery (Reficar) has slowed, as some of the big names implicated in the scandal sound off with their arguments and explanations. We summarize some of the bigger stories.

The Minister of Mines and Energy Tomás González offered his resignation, taking the political blame for not enacting measures quicker to prevent potential energy rationing. However, his resignation comes after the opening of a formal investigation into contracts associated with his wife’s company.

It did not take long for the commentary to start on the exit of the Ministry of Mines and Energy Tomás Gonzalez, who said he was leaving and taking the blame for not acting quickly enough to avoid possible energy rationing.

The Constitutional Court Decision on projects and the prior consultation process in Orito Putumayo and Puerto Gaitán, Meta have put the legal certainty of extractive projects in limbo, and more decisions are expected.

The National Hydrocarbons Agency (ANH) board of directors has approved regulatory changes to how it will assign blocks, and reports suggest it has taken into consideration at least some of the observations from the Colombian Petroleum Association (ACP).

Drawing parallels to the Cartagena Refinery, the USO has turned its attention to the delays and problems that have plagued the construction of an ethanol plant by Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) subsidiary Bioenergy.

Fuel prices fell again in March, but the authorities still cannot shake the questions from consumers and press as to why they have not fallen further if oil prices are down substantially.

The Vice Minister of Mines María Isabel Ulloa attended the seveth annual meeting of the Transparency of Extractive Industries Initiative (EITI), and presented Colombia’s first report on the matter of transparency. She will also sit on the EITI board of the directors.

The General Controller Edgardo Maya Villazón released a report on the handling of royalty funds which included 134 “findings” which the entity considers a misuse of the funds, while a financial institutions industry association warned that the royalty system has not helped reduce the infrastructure gap. These and other royalty-related stories in our periodic roundup.