This is how the Government sees the future of the oil and gas industry

The I Oil and Gas Summit, which celebrated the centenary of the hydrocarbon industry in Colombia, served to expose the challenges facing the sector and to understand the National Government's vision regarding its development. President Iván Duque declared his support to work and advance on its main challenges.

 The President of the Republic, Iván Duque Márquez, participated in the I Oil and Gas Summit that took place at the end of 2018 to celebrate the centenary of the industry in Colombia. In his speech at the event's opening ceremony, he expressed his support for the sector, which, as he said, is not unknown to him: his grandfather, Hernando Márquez, was Deputy Minister of Mines under Misael Pastrana, and as such participated in the drafting of the first oil code; moreover, his father, Iván Duque Escobar, was minister of the same portfolio during the government of Belisario Betancur, when Caño-Limón was discovered.

Therefore, he emphasized the importance of hydrocarbons in Colombia: “We cannot deny history –he said– and we cannot allow a demagogic discourse that seeks to demonize the sectors that have contributed so much to the country's economy.” He also acknowledged that he is surprised that “some try to say that the best blessing Colombia could have is for oil to run out. Then we would return to the question of how much we would have to export of other raw materials to import barrels.”.

}Colombia is going through a critical moment as oil reserves are only enough to self-supply the country for the next six years, hence the urgency to make decisions that facilitate the development of new resources. “We need at least two billion new barrels of reserves, which imply greater exploration, greater efficiencies, better technological uses. It is a challenge,” assured the president of the Colombians.

[prefix_blockquote cite=»President Iván Duque»]“We cannot allow a demagogic discourse that seeks to demonize the sectors that have contributed so much to the country's economy”[/prefix_blockquote]

The question that arises 100 years after the start of production from the first oil well is: what path to take in the current situation, where it is necessary to promote the sector while addressing social calls regarding its development?

In response to the question, President Duque stated that the growth of the industry must be harmonious with the sustainable development of the country, acknowledged that there are great challenges ahead, and called for environmental and social responsibility. “We must face the debates that are present, not only in Colombia but around the world; and we must do so with a vocation for deep, scientific, rigorous analysis, not ideologized, in which both environmental and sectoral aspects are present.”.

“These reflections will take place with a government that seeks transparency in the rules of the game, a government that seeks a regulatory framework that values the role of the industry while reconciling its best qualities to allow progress in environmental and social matters,” he added.

Completing a century represents knowledge, experience, capabilities, and also lessons learned. The Colombian president expressed optimism regarding the challenges of the oil world; he referred to history to remind that the industry has been able to continuously reinvent itself to improve its environmental and social relationships, even in adverse situations, and reiterated the Executive's support in accompanying the sector in this endeavor.