Incidents near areas of interest to the oil and gas industry were down to 32, below recent but above long-term averages. Non-Armed-Forces-reported incidents were below average in percentage terms and in absolute terms. This is our indicator of increased guerrilla-initiated activity. Our 4-week Moving Average incident count was up however at 35.0 but the 52 week average was down at 31.1 incidents per week.
The director of the National Hydrocarbons Agency Javier Betancourt says that the exploration and production contract for the VSM-13 block, located along the Las Ceibas river will not go forward and that Pacific Rubiales (TSX:PRE), who holds the contract through an acquired subsidy Alange Energy, wants to end the concession.
Colombia’ lower house held a debate on the progress of the Barrancabermeja Refinery, which the local mayor says is close to getting an official start after prolonged delays. The matter will be brought up in an Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) board meeting in June.
President Juan Manuel Santos addressed the stalled peace process this week, saying in an interview with Spanish media that if he is reelected, a peace agreement could be signed by the end of the year.
Pacific Rubiales Energy (TSX:PRE) reported its results from the first quarter 2014, and even though its flagship Rubiales field felt a drop in production, it managed to keep its total production figures on the rise, a sign the firm’s leadership says demonstrates a more diverse production base.
Some of the stories involving Colombia’s new and controversial General Royalty System (SGR) over the past weeks included evidence of improper royalty use in the Arauca and Coveñas municipalities, a dispute between governors and the central government leads to a cancelled OCAD session and MinHacienda say there are regional entities that have forgotten to bill for approved projects.