The former Minister of Mines and Energy Hernán Martínez has been fingered by the Controller General for his role in contract adjustments that allegedly cost the government CoP$60B (US$27M), along with the former director of mining contractor Ingeominas, Mario Ballesteros, and mining firm Prodeco. A word of warning for those in the oil and gas industry hoping to see E&P contracts adjusted because of the current crisis.
Despite a slight increase in the price of oil and a series of incentives offered by the government to support the oil industry, more support is needed to keep production from falling in the near future, says the Colombian Petroleum Association (ACP).
In a visit that included the Casanare governor Marco Tulio Ruíz, the royalty investment coordinator of the National Planning Department Camilo Lloreda made a visit to different projects that have been funded by royalties, and said he was left with “a very good impression”.
Responding to a report from the Ministry of Mines and Energy (MinMinas) think tank UPME which criticized subsidy support and tax breaks for biofuels, the industry association Fedebiocombustible responded, defending the use of ethanol and biofuel mixtures and rejecting the notion that it receives such benefits.
The Meta Department government has frozen more than half of its planned spending on projects that were to be funded by royalties as it prepares for a significant decrease in royalty funds in the next years. This and other stories in our periodic roundup of royalty related issues.
Promigas president Antonio Celia believes that there is commitment from the government to make gas infrastructure licensing more agile, but the system does not fully consider the cost of delays in licensing, considering the loss in royalties, investment, job creation, gas availability and gas rates.
Through the National Federation of Departments, Colombia’s governors have held an extraordinary meeting to align themselves and call on the government to release royalty funds assigned in the 2013-14 budget in their entirety.
The Farc attack in mid-April has eroded public support to its lowest point since the start of the peace process in November 2012, a Gallup poll has found.
The liberalization of the market and mass use of the domestic gas network, coupled with pricing decisions made on a political instead of technical or market basis is putting the country’s electrical energy supply at risk argues a newspaper column.
The Ministry of Mines and Energy (MinMinas) says prices will remain stable, while its own think tank questions the cost of subsidies to keep the price from rising.
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