ACP as a source of information
Source: Portafolio – National
Date: February 28
Headline: More than 15,000 barrels of crude were no longer extracted in the country
National oil production is not going through its best moment. The reason, for the third consecutive month, crude pumping recorded an average daily extraction with a downward trend. Last Wednesday, when the Ministry of Mines and Energy announced oil extraction for the first month of the year, there was again a decrease, this time of -1.68%, compared to the same month in 2019- (…) “Companies are focusing their investment efforts on maintaining production at the levels we had in 2019, avoiding the natural decline of the fields. If the required investments were not made, crude production would fall to values close to 730,000 bpd for the current year, hence the importance of continuing to boost the dynamism of the sector, overcoming internal obstacles and being more competitive against the behavior and conditions of the industry worldwide,” said Francisco José Lloreda, president of the Colombian Petroleum Association (ACP). Responded in: portafolio.co (February 27).
Source: Portafolio – National
Date: February 28
Headline: Oil and gold, Santander's cards for growth
The department of Santander will play a leading and primary role in the country's mining-energy sector in the coming years. (…) Projections made by Ecopetrol technicians, as well as by the ministries of Finance and Mines and Energy, indicate that unconventional production in the Magdalena Medio could increase between 250,000 and 500,000 bpd, considering that currently pumping is close to 80,000 bpd. (…) The Government estimates that crude production in unconventional fields, through the fracking technique, could generate 124,000 jobs, considering that currently the oil industry generates 40,000, and more when the unconventional industry generates three jobs for each conventional job. For its part, the Colombian Petroleum Association (ACP) states that with just the exploration of unconventional resources, the mentioned department will benefit from greater resources from royalties to support the economic and social development of the region. Responded in: portafolio.co (February 27), buenaventuraenlinea.com (February 28).
Source: El Nuevo Día – Regional
Date: February 28
Headline: Hydrocarbons and foreign trade, the first to feel the effects of the coronavirus
The national economy is feeling the effects of the coronavirus, especially in sectors such as foreign trade and international oil prices. It is no secret that the Coronavirus has become not only a threat to the health and life of thousands of people worldwide, but has also begun to present multiple variations and economic imbalances. One of the sectors that is already starting to feel the effects is oil, which in recent days saw its reference price fall considerably, putting the financial stability of several countries at risk. WTI dropped to $49.76 this Tuesday, while Brent was quoted at $54.07. (…) “China and Asia are vacuum cleaners of tradable goods, including oil. Unfortunately, the situation that has arisen with the coronavirus has led to the establishment of restrictive measures in that region, which has translated into a reduction in the demand for oil and various products,” explained Francisco José Lloreda, director of the Colombian Petroleum Association.
Source: Q Hubo Cúcuta – Regional
Date: February 25
Headline: With these little gifts, they seek favors from Carrasquilla
Alberto Carrasquilla has received a total of sixty-nine gifts from businessmen since his appointment as Minister of Finance on August 8, 2018. This was reported by the International Institute for Anti-Corruption Studies through its Lobbying program, which aims to make visible the lobbying that private sector employees conduct with public officials in order to obtain favors. (…) Most notable gifts on the list: traditional Colombian backpack, from the Colombian Petroleum Association.
GREMIO
Source: La República
Date: February 28
Headline: Being a leader, a wonderful opportunity. By: Marcelo Cataldo
Following my nomination as businessman of the year by Diario La República, I have been reflecting on the reasons why I was included among the five finalists. (…) At the La República event, the winner was Felipe Bayón, president of Ecopetrol, whom I recognize as an excellent leader and whom I sincerely congratulate. However, I also feel like a winner because nothing is more satisfying than feeling the recognition of your work team, those who are side by side with you, who work, who support you and suffer with you, who wear the jersey, go the extra mile, and who, after an intense workday, use their free time, put on their best smile, and accompany you to an event where they already know you didn't win, but they celebrate and enjoy it anyway.
Source: Portafolio
Date: February 28
Headline: The dollar got infected. By: Mauricio Reina
This Thursday, the exchange rate exceeded 3,500 pesos per dollar, driven by the growing uncertainty generated by the global expansion of the coronavirus. Although it is not the first time that the dollar's exchange rate has surpassed this threshold (it had already done so last year, during the peak of the Trade War between the United States and China), this fact has raised alarms about the potential impact that the spread of this virus may have on the Colombian economy. (…) The first is the impact that global uncertainty is having on the price of oil. This Thursday, the Brent variety was quoted at 51 dollars per barrel, more than ten dollars below what many analysts projected for this year. This reduction in crude oil prices compared to projections not only negatively impacts public finances (which have recently been balanced largely thanks to Ecopetrol's dividends), but also further erodes the value of our already meager exports.
Source: Portafolio
Date: February 28
Headline: Wall Street records the worst week since the 2008 crisis
As the new coronavirus, named Covid-19, continues to spread around the world and maintains fears of the high economic impact it will entail, global markets have not managed to emerge from the negative territory they have been in for the past few days. In fact, the accumulated drop this week of Wall Street's main indicator, the Dow Jones, is the largest since 2008. (…) Cemex Latam Holdings lost 6.461%, while Ecopetrol ended with a decline of 5.021%, in line with the declines that oil companies worldwide have been recording due to lower prices and expectations of reduced demand. (…) Just as has been happening throughout the week, the price of oil is another major victim of international fears regarding the coronavirus. Just this Thursday, the price of a barrel of Brent lost 2.31% to end at US$52.18 per unit.
Source: El Universal
Date: February 28
Headline: Bolívar, with the largest U contribution for the Dique canal
A key meeting took place yesterday between Vice President Marta Lucía Ramírez, the governors of Bolívar and Sucre, a representative of the World Bank, and a representative of the governor of Atlántico, amid the National Congress of Municipalities. The Vice President of the Republic announced that in the mentioned meeting it was defined how much the departments of Sucre, Bolívar, and Atlántico will contribute to the mega dredging project of the Dique canal to restore navigability and improve the environmental aspect. (…) Likewise, she pointed out that for this mega project, the national government will contribute $3 billion, Ecopetrol nearly one billion pesos, and the governors of Atlántico, Sucre, and Bolívar will contribute about 900 billion.
Source: El Universal
Date: February 28
Headline: Preparing fifth LNG import of 2020 for thermal plants
To meet the demand for natural gas for three thermal power generation plants on the Colombian Caribbean coast, the company Calamarí LNG, a liquefied natural gas trader, is preparing the fifth import of this fuel so far this year. Between January and February, four shipments of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) have already been received, with 167,217 m³ of this fuel, coming from Sabine Pass (Gulf of Mexico) and Trinidad and Tobago; and a fifth is scheduled for the coming days, which would complete 170,000 m³. (…) The liquefied natural gas imported during the year 2020 was purchased from international players such as Shell and Naturgy, who dispatched it to Colombia from Sabine Pass, in the Gulf of Mexico, and Trinidad and Tobago, two supply centers with great dynamics in the Caribbean.
Source: El Meridiano de Córdoba
Date: February 28
Headline: Canacol Energy continues training local suppliers in Córdoba and Sucre
On this occasion, 60 entrepreneurs from the area of influence of Canacol Energy in Córdoba and Sucre strengthened their skills as a success factor, contributing to the company's training processes, enhancing talent, competitiveness, and productivity in each of the regions. (…) Yenny Rodríguez Hernández, procurement manager of Canacol Energy, stated: «This second phase allows us to advance in the continuous improvement of business skills in order to promote their growth and sustainability in the regions and in the country's economy.».
Source: prensalibrecasanare.com
Date: February 28
Headline: Until March 6, registrations for the Synergy Entrepreneurship Program 2020
The Chamber of Commerce of Casanare (CCC) reported that the deadline for registration for the Casanare Incubation and Early Stage System program (Synergy) closes on March 6, 2020, and registrations are done virtually at http://bit.ly/sinergia20. (…) For this year, the participation of 150 entrepreneurs is expected, and the involvement of the 19 municipalities through five nodes located in Yopal, Aguazul, Tauramena, Villanueva, and Paz de Ariporo. The program's allies are the Government of Casanare, the Mayor's Office of Yopal, Sena, CUN, Unitrópico, Fundación Amanecer, and the oil companies Ecopetrol and Parex Resources.
Source: prensalibrecasanare.com
Date: February 28
Headline: $403 billion contracted in 2019 with local suppliers Ecopetrol in the Eastern Plains
Ecopetrol reported that in 2019, the contracting of goods and services amounted to $403,000 million with suppliers from the Orinoquía and Oriente Region composed of the departments of Meta and Casanare. In this region, which includes operations in Villavicencio, Castilla La Nueva, Acacías, Guamal, Puerto Gaitán, and Puerto López, in Meta, as well as Yopal, Aguazul, and Tauramena, in Casanare, the company locally contracted $294,000 million. (…) Ecopetrol stated that it is promoting its allies to also contract goods and services from the local market. In this regard, in 2019, Ecopetrol's allied companies in Villavicencio, Castilla La Nueva, Acacías, Guamal, and Puerto Gaitán entered into commercial contracts with third parties worth $1.8 billion, of which 43% ($786,000 million) were with local suppliers from the Eastern Plains.
Topics
Source: El Tiempo
Date: February 28
Headline: Strong rise of the dollar, while oil and stocks retreat
The continuous advance of the coronavirus continues to raise nervousness among investors, which is reflected with greater intensity and frequency in global markets. Yesterday, the price of oil in its Brent reference fell another 2.34 percent and its price stood above 52.18 dollars, a level not seen in 14 months. This drop triggered the price of the dollar worldwide, and Colombia was no exception. According to the trading system of the Colombian Stock Exchange (BVC), the US currency was traded yesterday at an average price of 3,507.27 pesos, that is, 65.3 pesos above the representative market rate (TRM) of 3,441.88 pesos.
Source: El Tiempo
Date: February 28
Headline: The tourism boom
The tourism sector in Colombia has just finished one of its best years. The number of non-resident visitors reached over 4.5 million, equivalent to a growth of 2.7 percent compared to last year's record. Of these tourists, more than 3.2 million were foreigners, with a growth rate of over 3 percent. (…) It is fair to recognize that since the beginning of his government, President Iván Duque has supported tourism as a growth engine for the economy. He has even called it the “new oil.” While the comparison with the economic contribution of crude oil is ambitious, it indicates the enthusiasm that such a dynamic and job-creating sector awakens in the head of state.
Source: La República
Date: February 28
Headline: Dollar surpasses $3,500 for the first time
In the last year, the Colombian peso is the fifth currency in a basket of 24 emerging currencies that has lost the most value against the dollar, as it has depreciated 11,66%. It is only surpassed by the Argentine peso (-37,58%), the Chilean peso (-20,14%), the Brazilian real (-16,57%), and the Turkish lira (-14,12%). (…) It is worth mentioning that in addition to these factors that have pressured the local peso's loss of value against the dollar, the fact that oil prices have also fallen, as the demand for the commodity has been affected by Covid-19. “This is the perfect cocktail to increase the price of the dollar in the country. In the case of oil, although the inverse relationship between its price and the exchange rate has been lost, at this moment the outflow of dollars from the country to seek safe assets, and the fact that fewer dollars are entering the economy from oil sales pressure the exchange rate to rise,” added Gandini.
Source: La República
Date: February 28
Headline: Oil has completed five days of decline
Global oil prices continue to decline and have completed five consecutive days of losses, reaching the lowest level since January 2019, with a quote of US$47.09 (-3.37%) for WTI crude and US$52.18 for Brent (-2.34%), according to the latest closing from Reuters. The increasing number of new Covid-19 cases outside of China has fueled fears of a pandemic that could slow down the global economy and reduce demand for crude oil, which is already beginning to be evident in the global market. (…) However, it was warned that if the decline in WTI oil continues, “it will reach US$40, providing some support and cushioning, while expectations grow for the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to cut its production by an average of 500,000 barrels.”.
Source: laopcion.com.co
Date: February 28
Headline: President of ASOJUNTAS Tame highlights the organization of the Hydrocarbons table
Albeiro Caicedo, President of the Tame boards association “ASOJUNTAS,” highlighted the organization of the first municipal Hydrocarbons table held by the mayor, with invitations to organizations and oil companies. This was a space for democracy, where the community could express its concerns, he added that he agrees with the population in demanding that both skilled and unskilled labor should be from Tame. The president stated that it is of utmost importance that the investments made have a social impact; these must be articulated with the municipal and departmental development plan, the PDET's, and the communal development plan.
Institutional
Source: El Tiempo
Date: February 28
Headline: The cracks uncovered by the scandal in the ANH
In the scandal over the departure of Luis Miguel Morelli from the National Hydrocarbons Agency, Marcela Bejarano, former private secretary of the Ministry of Mines and Energy, was mentioned for a lease contract signed by the entity, which the Comptroller's Office evidenced overcosts. In a conversation with EL TIEMPO, Bejarano gives her version of Morelli's confrontation with Minister María Fernanda Suárez and other situations in this power struggle. When I was the private secretary of Minister Juan Carlos Echeverry, and she was the director of Public Credit. We had a good relationship there, but we were not intimate friends as some mention. When she was appointed minister, she told me to accompany her as her private secretary and I said I would do it for 6 months.
Source: La República
Date: February 28
Headline: What is the mining-energy outlook in 2020? By: Estefanny Pardo
The Ministry of Mines and Energy has announced the increase of renewable energies in Colombia, by increasing the installed capacity of renewable energy generation sources by 50 times. Likewise, the Government has enthusiastically celebrated, since the last meeting at the World Economic Forum in Davos, that Colombia stood out for increasing renewable energy production from 1% to 12% which in simple terms means that Colombia generates 12% more of renewable energies such as solar or wind. (…) If they are exhausted, this will make Colombia have to import gas and costs for Colombians will likely increase. That is why the Ministry of Mines and Energy has a titanic task of defending and promoting fracking in the judicial processes that aim to prohibit it and in the implementation and regulation of pilot fracking projects that would increase those reserves.
Source: La Opinión
Date: February 28
Headline: Gas production increased in January
The Ministry of Mines and Energy revealed that commercial gas production reached an average of 1,116 million cubic feet per day in January, a figure that translated into a growth of 5.6% compared to what was achieved in January of last year. Oil reached a production of 383,372 barrels per day.
Behind the scandal of alleged corruption that brought down Luis Miguel Morelli, the former president of the National Hydrocarbons Agency, is the name of Marcela Bejarano and her Foundation for Orange Promotion for the Regions. Marcela Bejarano studied Political Science at the University of Los Andes and arrived at the government of Iván Duque as the private secretary of the Minister of Mines and Energy, María Fernanda Suárez. They had met in Santos' government when Bejarano was a desk advisor to then Finance Minister Juan Carlos Echeverry, and Suárez was the director of the Public Credit office. (…) Furthermore, this contract becomes an additional headache for the new president of the ANH, Armando Zamora. Despite the fact that the ANH has already disbursed the money for the lease contract to AB Consultores, the Orange Foundation has not paid Moderline or Inversiones In; and due to this non-compliance, Moderline can ask the Agency for the offices back (…) And it poses an even more complicated challenge: to convince oil companies and public opinion that despite the scandal, the new oversight office of the ANH is solid enough to ensure that companies do not cheat on oil contracts and royalty money.
Colombian Association of Oil and Gas