Colombia’s oil and gas sector is suffering from heightened pessimism among investors and lowered trust which could result in private firms abandoning plans or projects in Colombia if no change occurs said Lisa Viscidi, director for energy, climate change and extractive industries with Washington DC based Interamerican Dialogue.
Readers will have noticed a number of articles this week and last week on fracking. We decided to keep track of the number of articles we have found and whether they are positive or negative.
The Minister of Environment Gabriel Vallejo gave one of his longest interviews yet, defended the government’s plan to allow fracking, and countered critics that questioned his environmental credentials in the ministerial role.
President Juan Manuel Santos has announced a series of changes to the approval process for environmental licenses that he says will cut the wait time down to five months but still ensure that the environment is protected.
A group of environmentalists have delivered a letter to authorities calling for a moratorium on fracking in Colombia until more studies can be performed on its impact on the environment.
The president of the National Hydrocarbons Agency Javier Betancourt Valle defended the process thus far for regulating unconventional oil production, which provides an important potential for new discoveries. He said no fracking would occur for three years, and was surprised by how quick the controversy arose.
Delays in renovating the regulation of rates to transport natural gas has meant US$600M in investments have been delayed while the industry awaited more details over the course of the last five years, says the president of natural gas producer Promigas Antonio Celia Martínez.
Senator Jorge Robledo, a vocal critic of the oil industry, has warned that there could be a possible conspiracy of fuel importers and multinational firms that want to keep the Barrancabermeja Refinery from being modernized.
While officials from the Ministry of Mines and Energy (MiMinas) have started making the rounds to defend the regulatory framework and requirements for companies to use fracking techniques, the Minister of Housing Luis Felipe Henao has said he is concerned about the practice due to its potential impact on water sources.
The new Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development (MinAmbiente) Gabriel Vallejo has made his first public addresses to the congress and the national park service, giving the first glimpse into the authority’s priorities under his watch. Bottlenecks in environmental licensing were not mentioned.
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