The National Hydrocarbons Agency (ANH) awarded two blocks for E&P to Ecopetrol (NYSE: EC) and YPF S.A. in San Andrés. Environmentalists spoke out against this measure and now the Administrative Court of San Andrés had ruled on this. Now the State Council has confirmed the ruling.
This Wednesday, with 53 votes in favor and 2 against, the Senate approved the enabling legislation for the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP) that judges war crimes from Colombia’s armed conflict.
The idea of allocating a portion of the royalties budget to finance the post-conflict process has been controversial in the country. Not only has the Inspector General said it will “check the initiative with a magnifying glass”, but President Santos announcement of allocating science and technology resources to build tertiary roads caused a major discord in the country.
Oil spills took place this week in Caño Barbasco, Puerto López, and in Buenaventura and the companies involved implemented contingency plans. Regional environmental authorities did strict follow-ups on Bioenergy and Morelco’s facilities in the affected areas.
Ecopetrol’s (NYSE:EC) E&P business unit had more EBITDA than its Transport Line of Business (LoB) in 2016 but by far the largest contributor to Net Income was Transport. This continues to generate controversy. We hope this graph is helpful.