The prospect of President Gustavo Petro implementing adjustments to the tax reform approved in 2022, aiming to reduce corporate income tax rates while increasing taxes on higher-income individuals, sparked a mixed reaction among business leaders, academics, economists, and former directors of the National Directorate of Taxes and Customs (DIAN).
Whatever Gustavo Petro’s strengths as a politician might be (and we will leave that for another day), I would not hire him as a marketer. Who came up with “Empresa Integral de Energía de Colombia” as the new name for Ecopetrol? And what will it mean for the Colombian industry?
The Colombian oil industry has long stood as a significant contributor to the country’s economy, accounting for 1.3% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and fostering around 200,000 direct jobs throughout the entire value chain, as estimated by Campetrol.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro’s recent announcements regarding the likelihood of the Colombian state-owned oil company, Ecopetrol, collaborating with PDVSA to explore and exploit hydrocarbons in Venezuela, raised concerns. Lately, additional specifics have emerged.
Before the holidays, MinHacienda Ricardo Bonilla, MinEnergia Andrés Camacho and Ecopetrol CEO Ricardo Roa went to Congress to explain to the Fifth Commission of the Lower House the deal between Ecopetrol and Venezuela’s PDVSA. The NOC leadership estimates a gas shortfall in 2024 of at least 10% meaning importing would be inevitable anyway.
To no one’s surprise, we hope, MinHacienda Ricardo Bonilla has asked Colombia’s Constitutional Court to review its decision from last November on royalty deductibility.
Theoretically, production should be up by an additional 0.3% thanks to an extra day in February. For crude that could be another 775,000 barrels and over US$60M in additional industry revenue! This and other more useful forecasts in our annual review.
Over the holiday period, we continued to monitor the Colombian press for articles on the oil and gas industry. Some will appear as standalone articles in the coming days, but we also found the following items interesting and relevant. Most concern Ecopetrol.
The Colombian Presidency outlined the government members’ contributions and key accomplishments during COP28.
For eight consecutive months, the cost of living in Colombia has been on a downward trend.
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