Delegates from the Interior Ministry (MinInterior) left the comforts of Bogotá behind to meet with local authorities and members of the oil industry in Middle Magadalena as part of a plan to develop a strategy to confront social conflict, and also gave attention to contraband fuel on the border with Venezuela.
Rumors swirl that formal talks between the ELN guerrilla and the government are getting closer, but the group still lashed out this week and killed two soldiers. Ecuador says it can host these discussions.
The Ministry of Environment (MinAmbiente) held its account rendering session for the year, and defined ambitious goals for reductions in greenhouse gases and expanding the amount of protected areas in Colombia, among other initiatives.
Changes proposed by the Energy & Gas Regulation Commission (CREG) that would reduce payments from the “reliability charges” to thermal generators were rejected by this industry and now the companies have stepped up their protests, saying it puts the country at risk of blackouts and could be illegal.
The growing demand for Natural Gas Vehicles (NGV) could quicken if new vehicles for the transport industry become available, but the process to receive tax benefits for the “cleaner” vehicles and questions on supply hold the market back.
Municipal authorities of Arauca are alleging that Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) has been favored in local zoning ordinances, which they say were designed to let the NOC continue with its expansion of Caño Limon facilities.
The Energy and Gas Regulation Commission (CREG) rendered accounts to a public audience and released its management report, highlighting the new market manager for the natural gas industry.
With a growing fleet of natural gas vehicles (NGVs) and expanding domestic use of the fuel, an update of prices for 2016 by the Energy & Gas Regulation Commission (CREG) will affect far more than the traditional industrial consumers.
With the Finance Minister Mauricio Cárdenas in the crowd, Senator Iván Duque, of Senator Alvaro Uribe’s Centro Democratico party, leveled a blunt criticism at the government’s handling of the energy and mining sector and the spending plan going forward.
Eduardo Pizano, the president of Colombia’s Natural Gas Association, Naturgas, urged the government to speed up the process to issue environmental licenses for the production of Coal Bed Methane (CBM), which he said could provide an alternative source to increase the country’s gas reserves.
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