Luz Elena Sarmiento just got a promotion, moving from director of the National Environmental Licensing Agency (ANLA) to Colombia’s environmental minister. Here is a look at her past spent as an environmental specialist and community relations representative to the sector’s greatest powers.
In one of his last acts as mining and energy ministry, Federico Renjifo Veléz told press at the 2013 press gathering organized by natural gas association Naturgas that the government’s policy going forward will focus on liberalizing prices from the La Guajira field and building more regasification infrastructure. Will the new minister, a native from La Guajira, change this?
In Yopal a tanker-truck spilled raw crude while leaving the municipality and the spill reaction team took hours to respond. Instead local firefighters and a team from the Bicentennial Pipeline (OBC) has to intervene to clean up the mess.
Government negotiators and the truckers union reached an agreement last week that stops the blockades (caused by truckers) and gets goods moving again.
Talks to reach an agreement between USO members working for CB&I, the contractor in charge of construction of the expansion of the Cartagena Refinery (Reficar) have faltered and the union has called for a member vote to see if it will hold another general strike or take its case to court.
Regulation and PolicyOn the evening of Monday, September 2, 2013 the entire cabinet of President Juan Manuel Santos tendered their resignations, in the height of the agricultural crisis, so that he would be free to name new players if required.