Daily news report November 20, 2019
ACP as a source of information
Source: oilandgasmagazine.com.mx – International
Date: November 19
Headline: 2020 decisive for the upstream sector of Colombia
Oil companies in Colombia have long maintained a tense relationship with the communities in which they operate. 2020 will be a decisive year for the upstream sector in Colombia, as efforts to increase production are progressing slowly due to social problems with the communities. “I believe that (2020) will be a better year. I think many of the decisions that the Government has made, especially to reactivate oil and gas activity, will start to bear fruit,” said Francisco Lloreda, president of the private Colombian Petroleum Association (ACP) at a Forum this week. Oil companies in Colombia have long maintained a tense relationship with the communities in which they operate, facing issues from insecurity to guerrilla attacks.
Source: enterate24.com – International
Date: November 19
Headline: Colombian businessman claims that his country has benefited from Venezuela's oil “debacle”
The president of the Colombian Petroleum Association (ACP), Francisco Lloreda, stated that his country has benefited from the “oil debacle of Venezuela” and reiterated that they will continue to work in Venezuela, as he considers it a nation that has shown good results in the hydrocarbons sector. During his participation in the II Oil and Gas Summit held in Bogotá, Lloreda detailed that the governments of former president Hugo Chávez and president Nicolás Maduro put obstacles to the “oil activity of their country,” and those gains went to Colombia. He replied in: venezuelainformativa.com (November 19).
Hydrocarbons Sector
Source: El Tiempo
Date: November 20
Headline: In 2020, a fee would be charged to protect water basins
Although the country is considered a powerhouse in water resources, there are 43 basins that could run out of water during the dry season, according to the latest ‘National Water Study’ from the Ministry of Environment. To address the phenomenon, Decree 1207 of 2018 will come into effect in 2020, through which a percentage will be charged on the water bill to protect the resource. (…) In Colombia, it was launched six months ago and has the support of more than 40 actors from the public and private sectors to protect 15 basins responsible for 48 percent of GDP and on which 43 percent of Colombians depend. The director of the program for the northern Andes and southern Central America at The Nature Conservancy, Claudia Vásquez, spoke with EL TIEMPO about this initiative. (…) How much does the regional industry participate? Today we have Ecopetrol, Argos, Bavaria, Postobón, and the sugar industry, among others.
Source: La República
Date: November 20
Headline: Minhacienda no longer seeks a bank for the sale of ISA
After the Minister of Finance, Alberto Carrasquilla, confirmed that there will be no more asset sales for the remainder of the year, the Ministry announced, through a notice on its website, the termination of the process in which banks were invited to participate in the structuring process for the sale of assets in Interconexión Eléctrica (ISA). (…) Recently, Carrasquilla assured that the Government is not considering the sale of companies such as the state oil company Ecopetrol SA, its subsidiary Cenit Transporte y Logística de Hidrocarburos SAS, and ISA itself.
Source: La República
Date: November 20
Headline: Aramco abandons the international roadshow
Madrid. Saudi Arabia, whose crown prince is Mohamed bin Salman, ruled out plans to sell shares of its state oil company outside the Kingdom and its Gulf neighbors, a sign that the ambition for the IPO has diminished. One day after the international roadshows in the U.S. and Asia were canceled, bankers learned that there would be no meetings with European investors. It is expected to raise US$25 billion.
Source: La República
Date: November 20
Headline: «We propose to implement a great national pact for infrastructure»
Four years ago, at the National Infrastructure Congress, a document prepared by Fedesarrollo was presented proposing a Master Plan for Intermodal Transport. This study, unfortunately, remained on paper and was not implemented. Today, the president of the Colombian Chamber of Infrastructure, Juan Martin Caicedo, calls for the resumption of this issue and to create with the Government the great pact for infrastructure. (…) Where will the resources for this plan come from? We insist on the need for the Government to divest some national assets, whether Ecopetrol or ISA, to put this purpose into action; we did it when Isagen was sold, and the resources fed the National Development Finance and is the best representation that it can be done and that it benefits the country.
Source: La República
Date: November 20
Headline: Performance of departmental GDP. By: Sergio Clavijo
The most recent reading of territorial GDP as of 2018 shows a degree of moderate economic recovery, although with high heterogeneity compared to the national result (2.61% in 2018 vs. 1.41% in 2017). As has been usual in recent years, much of that regional variance is due to the behavior of construction. (…) The sectors with the lowest growth were recreation activities (1.61%) and mining (1.91%), the latter associated with the moderate dynamics in gold extraction (although prospectively some rebounds should be seen in this front, in line with the rebound in its price to US$1,470/ounce vs. US$1,280 at the end of 2018). (…) The sectors with the highest growth were business activities (5.1%) and social services (4.71%). In the first case, the rebounds in oil prices during that year (rising from US$52/barrel-Brent average in 2017 to US$71 in 2018, +31% annual) drove the outsourcing services of companies based in the city (although often operating regionally).
Source: La República
Date: November 20
Headline: Dollar fell 1.13 and closed at 3,434
During November, the price of the dollar in Colombia has been volatile due to local and international factors. This Tuesday, the U.S. currency traded at an average of 3,434.41, with a drop of 1.13 compared to the TRM, which was 3,447.74. (…) On the other hand, another reason why the dollar continues its volatile trend is related to the most recent reduction of 31% in oil prices. Brent fell 2.41% and WTI, 3.11%. Esparza concluded that crude prices “do not provide any support to the currency, as oil is being guided by the headlines of the trade war between the United States and China, alerting demand.”.
Source: Portafolio
Date: November 20
Headline: Ecopetrol aims for 140,000 barrels in international tasks abroad
Ecopetrol's medium-term bet (2027) in its international operating theater is to produce, at a minimum, 140,000 barrels of oil per day. This is projected by the management of the Colombian oil company, thanks to sealing four deals with recognized multinational hydrocarbon companies in less than five months, which are aimed at increasing its crude and gas reserves. In addition to materializing an alliance with Oxy to do fracking in the U.S., it signed an agreement with Shell to acquire a percentage of a block and a production contract in Brazil's Pre-salt, and another with Chevron to have a stake as a partner in an oil discovery in the Gulf of Mexico.
Source: Portafolio
Date: November 20
Headline: Crude prices fall again
The price of oil fell yesterday by around 3% pressured by the trade war between the United States and China and signs of a growing supply in the global market. In London, the Brent barrel for January delivery fell 2.5% to $60.91 while in N.Y. the WTI barrel dropped 3.23% to $55.21. (…) Analysts are accumulating negative data on an excess supply, awaiting the OPEC meeting next December. For example, «it seems unlikely that Russia will agree to deepen oil production cuts at the December meeting,» but it could commit to extending existing restrictions to support Saudi Arabia.
Source: El Nuevo Siglo
Date: November 20
Headline: Terpel enters the world of electric mobility
With a value proposition focused on people, Terpel presented its new mobility strategy that aims to provide electric vehicle users the possibility to travel the main roads of the country, without being limited by their autonomy. With the inauguration of its first electric charging service point, the company announced that, in this first phase, one of six trunk lines that will contribute to the ‘de-urbanization’ and massification of the electric vehicle will be interconnected. (…) The announcement was made during the inauguration ceremony of the company's first electric charging service point, located at the Báscula station (Siberia), which was attended by the President of the Republic, Iván Duque; the Minister of Mines and Energy, María Fernanda Suárez; the Minister of Environment, Ricardo Lozano; and the Deputy Minister of Transport, Juan Camilo Ostos.
Source: El Heraldo
Date: November 20
Headline: Offshore activity gains strength in the Caribbean
This sector has gained momentum globally, developing economic, political, technological, and social conditions to tackle hydrocarbon exploration. In the oil industry, offshore hydrocarbon extraction is gaining increasing strength, which is why Colombia has been making efforts to incentivize this industry, especially in the Caribbean Sea. The need to increase crude and gas reserves in the country and the desire to strengthen a competitive industry have motivated the Government and its various institutions, such as the National Hydrocarbons Agency (ANH), to promote the necessary strategies to find more deposits in the country and thus respond to existing insufficiencies. (…) However, it is important to highlight that offshore activity is not new in the country; it has been developed since 1969 with the extraction of gas in the department of La Guajira, especially in the municipality of Manaure, in the Ballena and Chuchupa fields.
Source: wradio.com.co
Date: November 20
Headline: Environmental damage from illegal drilling in Puerto Wilches
Serious environmental damage has been caused by the illegal actions that have occurred against the inactive crude transfer line in the Cristalinas field, in Puerto Wilches. The manager of the Río de Ecopetrol, Francisco Ruíz, indicated that this area has been impacted four times in 20 days, contaminating approximately 430 linear meters of vegetation and water body. «The events were recorded on November 4, 15, 17, and 18, in the Las Pampas village, which has required the activation of the control, containment, collection, and cleaning plan for the impacted areas, and were reported to the competent authority. The first of the events occurred on November 4 at the Bellavista farm, where a fluid escape occurred, affecting an area of approximately 180 linear meters of land and vegetation,» the statement said.
Regional News
Source: lareporteria.com
Date: November 20
Headline: Peasants guardians of the environment
Equión highlighted the commitment of the community, the landowners, and all the actors who have contributed to conservation in areas neighboring its operation. They are peasant families who have signed voluntary conservation agreements with Equión and today are guardians of the environment. “Thank you because together we have made it possible to conserve more than 1,700 hectares of forest in the foothills of Casanare through the signing of voluntary conservation agreements, in more than 17 micro-basins of the Cravo Sur and Charte rivers,” stated Edgar Pérez, leader of Environmental Management, Control, and Compliance at Equión. These agreements are one of the conservation strategies (along with production conservation agreements, ecological restoration, reforestation, and land purchases) of the Connecting Forests project, whose objective is to restore and conserve 3,600 hectares.
Source: eldiariodelllano.com
Date: November 19
Headline: Controlled situation at GeoPark oil well in Tauramena
The oil company GeoPark, through a Press Release, referred to the incident that occurred on Sunday afternoon, Park is a well located in the rural area of the municipality of Tauramena, where an oil leak was observed for a few minutes. The following is the text of the Press Release issued by GeoPark: GeoPark reports that it is investigating an incident that occurred at 4:12 p.m. on November 17, while maintenance activities were being carried out on the Max ST-1 well, located in the municipality of Tauramena. The incident resulted in a fluid loss that was controlled minutes later. Immediately, the Company activated the contingency plan to ensure the safety of personnel on site, control of the well, and containment of the loss. So far, impacts on water bodies are ruled out.
Source: llanoalmundo.com
Date: November 19
Headline: Business relationship roundtable of the CCV in Puerto Gaitán
Ecopetrol will hold a new business relationship roundtable in Puerto Gaitán, the event will bring national entrepreneurs closer to local suppliers in the municipality of Meta, with the intention of showcasing the portfolios of products and services that local entrepreneurs can offer to contractors and companies linked to hydrocarbon exploitation in the Puerto Gaitán area. To this end, Ecopetrol has arranged personalized working sessions, in which local entrepreneurs will present their portfolios with the aim of achieving contractual agreements in the near future.
Colombian Association of Oil and Gas