The hydrocarbons sector must continue to be the vehicle for the country's energy development: President Iván Duque

The hydrocarbon industry celebrated its first 100 years in Colombia at the I Oil and Gas Summit.

The president was emphatic in stating that the country cannot deny the history of the sector and its contribution to the development of Colombia and assured that he is surprised that “some try to say that the best blessing Colombia could have is for oil to run out, and then we would return to the question of how much we would have to export in other raw materials to import barrels.”.

Regarding the fiscal challenges for the next 10 years, Duque Márquez said that we cannot underestimate the contribution of the oil and gas sector. He added that “Colombia needs at least 2 billion new barrels of reserves which imply greater exploration, better efficiencies, and better technological uses.”.

For the President of the Republic, the oil and gas industry can be maintained and strengthened without this meaning that the country does not diversify its matrix. In this regard, he stated: “What I want is for this sector to continue being the vehicle for the country's energy development” and that, in turn, “Colombia diversifies its energy matrix and manages to combine conventional energy with unconventional renewable energies.”.

In line with the president of the Colombians, the president of the Colombian Petroleum Association (ACP), Francisco José Lloreda Mera, assured that “energy diversification is not incompatible with the responsible development of oil and gas,” and highlighted the cases of countries like Saudi Arabia, the Emirates, Russia, the United States, Norway, the United Kingdom, Canada, China, Argentina, and Peru, where renewable energies are promoted and hydrocarbons are developed.

Regarding the commemoration of the 100 years of the industry and its importance for Colombia, Lloreda highlighted that it is the oil and gas industry that drives the country, “by land, rivers, sea, and air; it provides electrical reliability to industries and homes, allows the countryside to be more productive, and contributes resources to the State like no other economic activity.”.

Likewise, to continue being a sector that contributes to the development of the country, the union leader emphasized that it is necessary to promote the competitiveness of the sector, and reiterated to President Duque that the industry wants to be a “partner” of the Government and an ally of the economic reactivation and productive transformation of the country: “It is in your hands, President Duque, to make a decision and promote the hydrocarbon industry, with its opportunities and challenges, or to see it fade away little by little, without shame or glory. We are facing a historic, unique, and unrepeatable moment,” he pointed out.

At the installation event of the Summit, the presidents of the Petroleum Gremial Committee, organizers of the event, and the Minister of Mines and Energy, María Fernanda Suárez, also participated. This opened three days of discussion on the strategic issues of the sector.