ACP as a source of information
Source: Portafolio – National
Date: October 28
Headline: Mining municipalities do not comply with Constitutional Court ruling
Several municipalities in the country are literally ‘ignoring’ the ruling of the Constitutional Court that stated that territorial entities cannot prohibit mining and oil activities in their territory. (…) Records from the Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME) indicate that to date, and since the aforementioned ruling of the Constitutional Court was issued, the councils of the municipalities of Gachantiva (Boyacá), Puerto Guzmán (Putumayo), Salento (Quindío), Saravena (Arauca), (…) have appealed to Municipal Agreements to halt all mining and oil activities. (…) For his part, Francisco José Lloreda, president of the Colombian Petroleum Association (ACP), has been stating in various forums that the current situation the country is experiencing regarding citizen participation and communities in hydrocarbon production has opened a door that reflects the importance of dialogue among the different actors involved in the processes carried out by this industry, in order to establish a harmonious relationship in the areas of influence. It was reported in: Portafolio.co (October 27).
Source: El Tiempo – National
Date: October 27
Headline: Union news
Before concluding this 2019, there are two facts that seem evident and are related to the National Business Council. Possibly for the first time it will have a woman as its president, who would be Sandra Forero, president of Camacol. The second is that it expects to have two new partners: Asomóvil (which brings together the cellular phone sector) and the Colombian Petroleum Association. The entry of the oil and telecommunications sector is seen as an opportunity to strengthen the union. It was reported in:eltiempo.com (October 26).
Source: El País – Regional
Author: Francisco José Lloreda Mera
Date: October 27
Headline: Something doesn't add up
It is not easy to understand what is happening in Chile. There are many analyses, some rigorous and others simplistic, mostly permeated by ideology and political convenience. The facts seem to be confused: the initial protest by students over the increase in the metro fare, the simultaneous and extreme acts of vandalism, the pot-banging protests, and the recent massive demonstration. All this amid partisan interests. On one hand, there are those who point out that it is a spontaneous social explosion originating from a deep social problem in the southern country, while on the other, those who attribute it to the tentacles of Castro-Chavismo; a macabre plan defined at the Sao Paulo Forum. It was reported in: elpais.com (October 27).
Source: La República – National
Date: October 26
Headline: Commemorations to rebuild. By: Germán Bolívar Blanco
Undoubtedly, this year is very representative not only historically but especially in light of the future to be built; of course, filled with challenges represented in the recognized economic and social problems, which are above all political challenges facing the 200 years of independence that we celebrate on August 7, along with the 170 years of the Conservative Party of Colombia whose anniversary we celebrated on October 4 (…) from its origin recognized as the cradle of great intellectuals and statesmen, but also representatives of the branches of power including President Duque and his government team, the presidents of the High Courts and the attorney Carrillo, plus the private sector with the presidents of Andi, Asobancaría, Fenalco, and the ACP; which in good time oxygenated it and will project positively for another 170 years or more. It was replicated in: larepublica.co (October 26).
Source: Economic Note – National
Author: Carlos Alberto Leal Niño
Date: October 25
Headline: What we cannot risk. By: Carlos Alberto Leal Niño
On September 10, the Council of State maintained the precautionary measures of Decree 3004 of 2013 and Resolution 90341 of 2014, by which technical requirements and procedures for the exploration and exploitation of hydrocarbons in unconventional deposits (YNC) are established, which constituted a severe blow to the development of the oil activity in the country, as there would be no progress in the four Comprehensive Research Pilot Projects (PPM) proposed by the Commission of Experts in the Magdalena and Cesar-Ranchería basins. (…) According to the ACP, if hydraulic fracturing in YNC proves viable, the investment could reach 5 billion dollars annually, which is equivalent to about 2.1% of GDP. Money that we would stop receiving. The ACP also announces that unconventional deposits for the next 25 years would contribute 36 billion dollars represented as follows: 10 billion dollars in royalties, 18 billion in taxes, 6 billion in dividends, and 2 billion in economic rights.
Source: Economic Note – National
Date: October 25
Headline: Oil services (SIC)
Being an industry directly linked to the behavior of the oil sector, the services associated with this activity move in tandem with the global crude market. (…) In the Colombian case, the 59 exploitable areas presented by the National Hydrocarbons Agency, within the framework of the Permanent Area Allocation Process, opens the possibility for oil services to take on new life. Similarly, recent studies have found indications of exploitable deposits, which would be good news for the sector. (…) Graph: Colombia: Exploratory wells. Source, taken from; IEP-ACP and Campetrol.
Source: todotexcoco.com – National
Author: Francisco José Lloreda Mera*
Date: October 25
Headline: Road infrastructure, exports, and oil revenue
Without transportation infrastructure, there is no development. This thesis seems to have not resonated sufficiently in the country until very recently. A World Bank study indicates, for example, that if Colombia had prioritized its infrastructure in the mid-1990s, as other countries like South Korea, New Zealand, Turkey, and Malaysia did, which improved their infrastructure in four years, it would have achieved GDP growth rates of 3 percentage points per year. (…) One option is to allocate a significant portion of national oil revenue for a time to the construction of strategic road infrastructure and to commit regions to contribute to this end, with royalty resources. *President of the Colombian Petroleum Association (ACP).
Hydrocarbons Sector
Source: El Espectador
Date: October 28
Headline: Sickly growth. By: Salomón Kalmanovitz
The government boasts about Colombia's growth, one of the highest in impoverished Latin America. Indeed, Venezuela has lost more than half of its wealth, Argentina is experiencing a milder contraction, Chile has been stagnant for five years and is boiling, Brazil is not growing much either, Ecuador is suffocated by its dollarization, and Mexico has suffered from slow growth for three decades. The result of Colombia's growth for the first half of 2019 is 3.1%, which looks very good compared to the rest; but looking at the data carefully, fissures in the foundations on which it rests are revealed. (…) So far this year, both sectors grow at a poor 1.7%, construction contracts by 2.5% (private -7%; hence so much unemployment, and public construction supposedly grows by 11%), mining and oil increase by 3.1%, commerce increases by 4.4%, thanks to a 9% increase in imported goods, while exports grow only 3.4%.
Source: Portafolio
Date: October 28
Headline: Presentation
Presentation of the results of Merco Leaders Colombia 2019. In the photo, from left to right, Manuel Sevillano, director of Merco; Felipe Bayón, president of Ecopetrol; Camila Escobar, president of Procafecol; Mónica Contreras, president of Pepsico; Carlos Ignacio Gallego, president of Grupo Nutresa; and Diego Forero, president of Pfizer.
Source: El Heraldo
Date: October 28
Headline: Gas and solar energy, the force that began to move Córdoba
The use of solar panels, the discovery of new gas deposits, and the acquisition of technologies for the development of biofuels are some of the cards the department holds in energy matters. (…) CanacoI also announced that once drilling begins on the Pandereta 5 well, in the same block, an increase in the proven reserves of the field could be noted. «This is good news regarding the incorporation of gas reserves in the country, which in 2018 for the first time fell to a useful life of less than 10 years,» said Luis Miguel Morelli, president of the National Hydrocarbons Agency (ANH).
Source: El Heraldo
Date: October 28
Headline: The offshore industry is moving in the Caribbean Coast
After five years of stagnation, the search for hydrocarbons in the waters of the Colombian Caribbean Sea is beginning to reactivate in offshore development, which will positively impact the economy of the Caribbean region and especially of the capital of Atlántico, as the operation requires the location of bases and demands the provision of logistical services on land. Luis Miguel Morelli, president of the National Hydrocarbons Agency (ANH), states that six offshore exploration and production contracts have already been signed, which will mobilize investments of 1.830 billion dollars. The country has 63,000 MPBE, a high potential for prospective resources in the marine subsoil of the Caribbean. However, it is an unexplored entity, with no more than 70 wells, including those of the Chuchupa -Ballenas field. (…) COL – 4. Awardee: Exxonmobil. Participation: Ecopetrol 50% / Repsol 50%. Operator: Repsol. GUA OFF – 1. Awardee: Ecopetrol S.A. Participation: Ecopetrol 50% / Repsol 50%. Operator: Repsol. Estimated investment commitment of both contracts: 700,000,000 USD.
Source: El Heraldo
Date: October 28
Headline: The challenge of the Caribbean
The Caribbean Coast is consolidating as one of the regions with the greatest energy potential in Colombia. This is confirmed by the interest of national and foreign investors in the projects being developed in the region. The exploration and production of offshore hydrocarbons is an industry that moves millions of dollars, and its development in Colombia has a positive impact on the economic growth of the Caribbean Coast. According to the Ministry of Mines and Energy, the country has become an investment destination for offshore exploration and production, and the regulatory adjustment that has been consolidated in recent years makes the Colombian Caribbean basin a scenario of “great potential” and attractive for this type of investments. According to the National Hydrocarbons Agency, with the reactivation of offshore contracts in the blocks of the Colombian Caribbean Sea, investments of about USD 1.830 billion will be mobilized, which will have a significant impact on the economy of the region.
Source: El Informador
Date: October 28
Headline: The thankless task of managing bankruptcies. By: German Vives Franco
What happened in Ecuador, Peru, Argentina, and Chile is not surprising. It is the result of the confluence of several factors. Some endogenous, others exogenous, some immediate and others long-standing and structural. The most relevant exogenous factor is the slowdown of the global economy, which includes the drop in oil prices and the lower purchase of other primary inputs. This has severely affected the coffers of developing nations that depend on the prices of mining-energy products or on exporting raw materials or both. The price of oil has fallen by approximately 60% since its peak in 2014.
Source: El Espectador
Date: October 27
Headline: A promising energy future
The Colombian Caribbean region, in its continental portion of the Atlantic Coast and in the maritime zone of the waters of the Atlantic Ocean, aims to become the new energy hub of the country. To date, six offshore exploration and production contracts have been signed, and an additional exploratory program has been activated in the Tayrona block (…) With these adjustments, and a relaxation in the number of phases of the Minimum Exploratory Programs (PEM) of the (9) blocks that had Technical Evaluation Contract (TEA), the ANH managed to unblock offshore exploration and sign in record time five Exploration & Production contracts with renowned world-class oil companies such as Ecopetrol, Shell, Repsol, Noble, and ExxonMobil, with estimated investment commitments exceeding 1.6 billion dollars. (…) On the other hand, the signing of four contracts with Anadarko is pending, whose direction will be defined by Oxy, the company that acquired it a few months ago.
Source: El Nuevo Siglo
Date: October 27
Headline: The economic agenda that the new leaders will face
Seven key points for territorial development that urgently need to be addressed by mayors and governors in the next four years. Some are already laws, and others are pending in the Congress of the Republic for approval. (…) 3. The General System of Royalties. The reform to the General System of Royalties (SGR) has only two debates left in the Senate of the Republic to pass to presidential sanction and become state law. The articles approved in the mentioned corporation indicate that 201% of the resources from mining and oil royalties will be allocated to the municipalities and departments where operations in exploration, production, and transportation are developed. Likewise, an addition of 51% was approved in the contribution for those municipalities where mining and oil tasks are carried out.
Source: La Opinión
Date: October 27
Headline: Pimpineros, tired of living in illegality
Daniela Rolón started selling smuggled gasoline in 2012, after her husband discovered how profitable the business was and the few opportunities they had to get a formal job without having studied. (…) Byron Falla Delgado, secretary of Mines and Energy for the department, pointed out that integration with academia in the technical table for labor reconversion provides tools for building strategies that carry out effective change processes. He added that in the coming days, three new projects will be launched: ‘My Fuel is Me’, from the National Hydrocarbons Agency; listening centers with the National Police, and entrepreneurship projects with UNDP.
Source: El Frente
Date: October 27
Headline: The theme was focused on unconventional deposits
Experts, entrepreneurs, and academics from the hydrocarbons sector gathered this Friday at the UIS Guatiguará headquarters to participate in the SPWLA Workshop: Developing Unconventional Resources in Colombia, a space of the SPWLA Oriente chapter that addresses the theme of unconventional deposits. (…) Among other personalities from the scientific community, engineer Eusebio José Orozco, advisor to the vice presidency of operations, royalties, and participations of the National Hydrocarbons Agency – ANH, was also present, who during his speech emphasized the importance of the work of universities as guarantors and spokespersons of technical information that can guide society's perception of the environmental risks associated with “Fracking.”.
Regional News
Source: Caracol TV
Date: October 26
Headline: Inhabitants of the municipality of Orocué Casanare demand the construction of access roads
Source: La Voz del Cinaruco
Date: October 25
Headline: The inter-village football tournament Copa Oxy has begun. In this sporting event, the companies Ecopetrol and OXY make an annual investment of about $82 million pesos for the Caño Limón area and $70 million pesos for the Caricare area
Source: La Voz del Cinaruco
Date: October 25
Headline: Summary of the inaugural matches of the Copa OXY. In this sporting event, the companies make an annual investment of about 82 million pesos for the Caño Limón area and 70 million pesos for Caricare
Source: caracol.com.co
Date: October 25
Headline: The entanglements of the former governor who aspires to manage Casanare again
There are three days left for Colombians to go to the polls to elect mayors, governors, councilors, and other positions of popular election, and for that reason, social networks are constantly spreading information, some true and others false, about the candidates participating in Sunday's contest. In this case, the spotlight is on candidate Marco Tulio Ruíz Riaño, a candidate for the Governorship of Casanare, who presented himself through the citizen movement Together for Casanare. The allegations against the candidate consist of the fact that when he was the governor of that department in 2013, he allegedly had several contracting problems, and for that reason, he currently faces processes before the Attorney General's Office and the Comptroller's Office.
Colombian Association of Oil and Gas