We have been collecting financial and operational data on the companies with significant production in Colombia. Our database goes back to 2009 and so far covers nine companies in depth. The seven in the chart are sufficiently mature for us to estimate their average Operating Income for the last year. Economic theory says that larger companies in terms of revenue should have better margins if only because they can spread their fixed costs over a bigger base. Sometimes larger companies lose this advantage by being bloated and inefficient.
Pacific Rubiales receives a lot of criticism in the alternative press for its massive publicity campaign. Image advertising is seemingly everywhere and the company is the major sponsor of the National Soccer Team. Websites like La Silla Vacia, Kien y Ke or RazonPublica.com speculate that the publicity is an attempt to buy the mainstream media and whitewash what must be terrible things the company must be doing.
Colombia’s Auditor General — known in Spanish as the Contralora — is supposed to be responsible for assuring that the nation’s resources are well spent and that revenues reflect economic activity. Lately however, Sandra Morelli Rico has become concerned that the Environment Ministry (MinAmbiente) has not been sufficiently vigilant on environmental issues, especially in the extractive sector. We commented on her letter about non-conventional hydrocarbons extraction here. On Monday, October 22nd the office published a report criticizing a number of projects in the extractive and energy sectors for reasons which — while they will play well to certain sectors of public opinion — in some cases appear to lack a basis in fact.
This is more fun than anything else at this point. We have taken our Security Incidents Near Hydrocarbons counts and color coded the departments. The more red the color the more incidents. The fewer, the “cooler” the situation and thus the department is “blue”. We have superimposed the outlines of the major basins for reference.
The Colombian Petroleum Association (ACP) has published a press release on the negative impacts of a number of laws initiated by Congress – which are not backed by the government – that seek to increase government take and give back to local communities part of what they lost in royalties. Translated and with commentary by Hydrocarbons Colombia.
Ecopetrol and Chevron will upgrade the compression facilities at the Chuchupa field to increase its daily gas production. For this, the field will be off-line from October 30th to November 3rd. More maintenance will take place at the end of the month. From an Ecopetrol press release, translated and with commentary by Hydrocarbons Colombia.
2025, Hydrocarbons Colombia, All Rights Reserved.
