Fuel shortages, imported gasoline, a protested related death, soaring food prices, accusations of corruption and violence along Colombian roads are just a few of the consequences reported from the truckers’ strike that is already well into its second month.
A year after a blockade and protest led to intervention from riot police and national attention, residents in Valparaiso, Caquetá have again opposed reactivated exploration activities. This depicts the challenge for the industry to reach areas with potential for oil production that have previously been off limits due to the armed conflict.
It seemed only inevitable that with several weeks of advances at the peace talks in Havana that there would be setbacks. This week one of the Farc’s factions said it would not give up its arms, and a confusing incident between the guerrilla and the military shows how fragile the peace actually is.
Farc commander ‘Timochenko’ said that he has ordered the guerrilla to stop collecting ‘taxes’, or extortion money, due the pending peace agreement. And the wait for a ruling on a plebiscite from the Constitutional Court stays tense.
The first UN observers have arrived to Colombia to oversee the eventual laying down of arms and confirm the bilateral cease fire between the Farc and the government, as the process continues forward following last week’s agreement.
By enacting a peace agreement, Colombia will have an opportunity to develop the knowledge of its subsoil to visualize opportunities and threats, said the Minister of Mines and Energy (MinMinas) Germán Arce.
Both the Colombian Petroleum Association (ACP) and the Colombian Association of Oil Engineers (ACIPET) welcomes the recent ceasefire agreement, and said that the oil industry has been one of the sectors most affected by the armed conflict.
Government and Farc negotiators announced on Wednesday that an agreement had been reached on a bilateral and definitive cease fire. President Juan Manuel Santos and other heads of states gathered in Havana today (Thursday, June 23) to sign the agreement.
Government and Farc negotiators are working in separate sessions until next Monday, June 20th, before starting an intensive round that press reports are billing to be one of the last. Meanwhile President Juan Manuel Santos warned the Farc could resume urban warfare if talks fail.
Attacks by the ELN guerrilla on the Coveñas/Caño Limon pipeline have rendered US$20B in damage to the oil infrastructure and another US$20B in environmental damage in the last 28 years, according to data released by Colombia’s Attorney General’s office.
2026, Hydrocarbons Colombia, All Rights Reserved.
