News and AnalysIs for

In a change of strategy the USO says it has direct workers with Pacific Rubiales (TSE:PRE) that have decided to affiliate themselves with the USO, and the union has submitted a list of demands.

The Minister of Mines and Energy Tomás González made a visit to Ecopetrol’s (NYSE:EC) offshore operations as part of the central government’s recent prioritization of the sector.

While industrial sectors call for an open bilateral negotiations of gas rates, electrical energy generators say that their needs are being cast aside to accommodate other sectors.

A mix of social organizations, municipal governments, the departmental government and control entities such as the Regional Controller met in Puerto Asís and signed a regional peace agreement in light of the human rights violations which have taken place in the conflict-ridden department of Putumayo.

We reported on a MinMinas press release about reserves and quoted their figure of 6.4 years of remaining oil production. But we would have been more correct to ignore the Ministry’s number and say there are at least 8 years of self-sufficiency.

The Energy and Gas Regulation Commission (CREG) has postponed fixing a formula that would define price increases in the supply of natural gas, as the industry calls for authorities to allow a free market.

The Minister of Mines and Energy (MinMinas) Tomás González defended provisions for the mining and oil sector in the National Development Plan (PND) in the Senate’s Fifth Commission, where he and other authorities were questioned on its reach in social and environmental matters.

The Ministry of Mines and Energy (MinMinas) released 2014 reserve figures for oil and gas, and said that the country has proven reserves for 6.4 years considering current production levels.

Last week reports of missing hard drives at the National Hydrocarbons Agency (ANH) with data on offshore blocks caught the attention of the local press. However probably a bigger story was on falsified bank guarantees for ANH contracts, conveniently slipped into the same press release. Now more details emerge on this latter issue.

Colombia’s Minister of Mines and Energy (MinMinas) Tomás González said the tax burden on companies seeking new reserves will be reduced and that the reduction will not affect public finances.