Colombia lacks transport infrastructure of all kinds from roads to railways to ports. Railways are long-term projects so roads will have to carry the freight for several years. The country ranks last in the region for having four-lane highways so there is a desperate need for many investments. It looks like the next phase may actually be getting off the ground, at least in terms of tendering. From a MinTransporte press release, translated and with commentary by Hydrocarbons Colombia.
We are interested in infrastructure – especially high capacity infrastructure like rail – because, for all of the country’s positive attributes, Colombian transport infrastructure can only be described in words that are inappropriate for a public forum like this website. This particular railway – the Carare railroad – will start central Boyacá, go to Barrancabermeja and then follow the Magdalena River valley to the coast. That makes it important for transport to Bogotá and important for the hydrocarbons industry if unconventional extraction ever gets off the ground. From a MinMinas press release, translated and with commentary by Hydrocarbons Colombia.
Business magazine Dinero reports that Ecopetrol agreed to finance in pesos US$1B of its US$2B investment budget for this year, after the government recently requested the company to finance its operations in local currency instead of dollars (as we reported). The announcement was made by Minminas Mauricio Cardenas, who said that the projects will be funded: “The vast majority, over 50%, hopefully more than 60%, will be in local currency.”
Multiple sources in the Colombian news media reported that Ecopetrol awarded business group Empresas Públicas de Medellín (EPM) a contract to build, maintain and operate two power lines that will transport electricity to the Barrancabermeja refinery. In the coming days, EPM will begin environmental procedures for the construction project, which will have a 230,000-volt substation and 250-MW-capacity lines 10-kilometers long .
As reported by newspaper Portafolio, a delegation of UK Export Finance, the United Kingdom’s Export Credit Agency, visited Colombia in order to explore possible investments in the country in the areas of infrastructure, mining, oil and gas. The agency also provides financing services to Colombian companies that want to purchase equipment from British companies.
An Argentinian Justice ratified the foreclosure of US$19B against Chevron for causing environmental damage in Ecuador’s Amazon. The plaintiffs’ lawyer, Pablo Fajardo, said that Chevron “has to pay or deposit (in a bank account in favor of the plaintiffs), each month, 40% of all its revenues in Argentina”. The plaintiffs claim to have been victims of contamination caused by Texaco, later acquired by Chevron, between 1964 and 1990.
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