Colombia, on the path to an increasingly transparent extractive industry

Colombia, one of the nations in Latin America with one of the most prominent oil, gas, and mineral industries, has taken on an important commitment for over five years to promote transparency in the sector.

This is about the country's adherence to the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), an important global standard created in 2002 that promotes the responsible management of resources and governance in the extractive sector.

[prefix_blockquote align=»right»]The country has begun to shine as a regional leader in implementing transparency in information and good practices.[/prefix_blockquote]In this process, which has since included 51 oil, gas, and mineral-producing nations, not only private industry actors have been key, but also national governments and representatives of civil society, who have sought through various strategies to ensure that information about the Colombian extractive industry is clear and easily accessible to citizens.

Now, after years of work and a constant commitment from 34 companies in the extractive sector, the country has begun to shine as a regional leader in implementing transparency in information and good practices.

“Colombia has become a regional leader in the implementation of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative and, without a doubt, companies in the hydrocarbons sector have fully supported the process. It is clear that this important global standard allows for monitoring the country's resources,” explained Francisco Lloreda, president of the Colombian Petroleum Association (ACP).

But beyond the rigorous effort that Colombia has made to ensure that resources derived from the extractive industry are reflected in clear accounts and in a correct volume of contributions made to the Nation, the executive points out that it is a future challenge –beyond what the global EITI standard establishes– for different actors (such as companies and civil society) to verify how the State uses what it receives from the activities of oil, mining, and gas production companies.

[prefix_blockquote align=»right»]As a result of the work done to align with transparency, Colombia was awarded this year by the International Secretariat of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI).[/prefix_blockquote]Yéssica Prieto Ramos, national director of Projects of Crudo Transparente (a Colombian civil society organization that informs, socializes, and analyzes the socioeconomic impacts of the hydrocarbons sector, and ensures the responsibility and transparency of the oil industry), believes that Colombia has made significant efforts in recent years and points out that this work has also been driven by several governments.

“Without a doubt, it has been difficult, as the EITI standard imposes strict compliance requirements on the country. Thus, for Colombia to be validated by the EITI Initiative, the Government, companies, and civil society must work together,” Prieto points out, noting that in 2018 the nation received the highest rating in Latin America and the Caribbean in terms of sector transparency.
Over the past six years, according to analyses conducted by Crudo Transparente –as a representative of civil society– not only has greater access to sector information been achieved, but it has also become clearer how companies in the extractive sector pay taxes to the Colombian State. Furthermore, another achievement reached with the standard is the disclosure of oil contracts and also the publication of environmental information.

On the other hand, it is worth noting that as a result of the work done to align with transparency, Colombia was awarded this year by the International Secretariat of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI). The reasons for receiving this distinction, according to the Secretariat, relate to the fact that the country implemented significant advances in automation, collection, and dissemination of public data from the mining-energy sector, and also achieved satisfactory progress among the nations that are part of the EITI standard.
In addition to this important distinction for the sector, it should also be highlighted that in August of this year, the Secretariat of Transparency, the Ministry of Mines and Energy, and the Vice Presidency of the Republic formalized the adherence of the mining-energy sector to a project called the Colombian Route of Business Integrity, which, framed within the principle of legality of President Iván Duque's government, seeks to combat corruption and promote integrity.

[prefix_blockquote align=»right»]After years of work and a constant commitment from 34 companies in the extractive sector, Colombia has begun to shine as a regional leader in the implementation of transparency in information and best practices.[/prefix_blockquote]Camilo Jaimes Poveda, acting secretary of Transparency, indicated that “we work to promote the implementation of best practices in the mining-energy sector. In particular, in the extractive sector we have two lines of work. The first is assistance in the implementation of the Statutory Transparency Law and in access to public information. We have conducted awareness-raising sessions with officials from the National Hydrocarbons Agency (ANH) and supported working groups led by the Ministry of Mines and Energy. The goal is to combat the opacity of information to make processes transparent and promote citizen participation and social control.”.
The second is, Jaimes detailed, a line of work that consists of the implementation of the Business Integrity Route. “The objective of this is to join efforts to raise ethical standards and promote transparency in business. It allows for the fostering of spaces for knowledge and experience exchange between companies and Government, to create alliances that promote integrity and foster a culture of transparency; this, through the adoption of common ethical values and tools that contribute to preventing and mitigating corruption risks.”.