The government’s fiscal plans are being squeezed by the downward trend of the WTI and Brent oil prices. Estimates are that for every dollar the price drops, the fiscal impact in revenues amounts to CoP$420B (US$220.8M) over the year.
The General Royalty System (SGR) continues to generate conflict between the central government and regional leaders. Departmental governors from the major oil producing regions say a budget crisis is looming due to the new royalty system as congress mulls changes.
A boom in the local population and migratory patterns that has led to increased unemployment, crime rates and now budget problems due to the lack of direct royalties. The Aguazul mayor Fernando Camacho argues that the nearly 15 years of oil activity has left the community worse off.
The Ministry of Mines and Energy (MinMinas) has signed a cooperation agreement with its counterpart in Peru to promote an exchange of information and hold a yearly meeting to discuss hydrocarbons development.
The National Hydrocarbons Agency is making slow advances towards the Amazon basin, which has the potential to greatly increase the country’s proven reserves, but could also ignite conflicts over environmental issues.
Senator Juan Diego Gómez, of the conservative party, wants to hold a debate in the Senate’s Fifth Commission on the issue of fuel quality to analyze issues surrounding Ecopetrol’s (NYSE:EC) refining of fuels in Colombia.
Senator Julio Miguel Guerra Sotto has submitted a bill to create a formal social license for mining operations, a measure that other authorities and lawmakers have suggested for the hydrocarbons industry,
The director of the DNP Simón Gaviria Muñoz visited Yopal, Casanare to meet with local authorities and deliver a message that the government plans to get to the heart of the regions’ dissent and address royalty compensation.
The national government has issued a decree that sets requirements on local hiring for the hydrocarbons industry, obliging oil companies to hire municipal residents for both skilled and unskilled labor positions.
The legislative bill that bring on the first major changes to the General Royalty System (SGR) since its enactment two years ago has passed its first senate debate.
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