While 2015 has been marked by the fall in oil prices, a report from BanColombia predicts that the full brunt of the fall will be felt in 2016, as the government’s austerity programs start to hit the overall economy.
Coal miner Drummond says that it could receive its environmental license “at any moment” to start production of Coal Bed Methane (CBM) in La Guajira, where a concession dispute with the coal miner of the same block, Cerrejón had kept the project from moving forward.
Geologists have felt the strongest impact from the fall in oil prices as companies slash their investments in drilling and exploration, but there are still some niches that remain in high demand in Colombia.
GasThe El Niño weather phenomenon has intensified from moderate to strong according to the state weather institute IDEAM, and rain shortages in September will mean a strong increase in demand for natural gas, squeezing electrical energy generators.
A modernized and functioning Cartagena Refinery (Reficar) appears to be close, and the refinery is expecting to have a substantial impact on the general economy, although how much is debatable.
A regional military publication profiled the Colombian armed forces troops assigned the task of protecting the nation’s pipelines from guerrilla attacks, and detailed some of the collaboration with other government agencies on the environmental cost.
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