ACP as a source of information
Headline: They warn about obstacles to 'fracking'
A regulation that the National Government is preparing and that relates to extractive activity in the national territory would ultimately discourage oil companies from doing fracking in the country. (…) For his part, Francisco José Lloreda, president of the Colombian Petroleum Association (ACP), said that there is no formal document on the bill, and that it is even just a draft for review. The same question was posed to the spokespeople of the state oil company Ecopetrol, which is most interested in developing the YNC through fracking with a view to ensuring self-sufficiency in oil and gas in the country. (…) Portafolio raised the inquiry to the Ministry of Mines and Energy to establish the reasons for the removal of the 40% discount, or if it would be included in the final version, but did not receive a response from the agency's officials. Responded in: portafolio.co (March 23).
Source: petroguia.com – National
Date: March 23
Headline: Duque's government rejected the ACP's request for a progressive reduction in gasoline prices
The Ministry of Mines and Energy rejected the statement made by the Colombian Petroleum Association, representing the wholesale fuel distribution companies, indicating that the reduction of 13% in gasoline prices and 9% in the case of diesel should be made progressively at wholesale centers and service stations, as the fuel inventory is depleted, and clarifies that the current one came into effect at midnight on March 21. “Stations that do not comply with this measure adopted by the National Government may be subject to investigations and economic sanctions by the Superintendence of Industry and Commerce of up to 2,000 Current Legal Monthly Minimum Wages,” indicates the ministry's note.
Source: El País
Author: Francisco José Lloreda Mera
Date: March 22
Headline: The two fronts
The economy is recovering, lives are not. That's how it is. Hence the need to continue doing what is within our reach to try to contain the virus and prevent its exponential growth from collapsing the health system, the relevance of the self-regulation and mobility restriction decisions made in various regions in coordination with the central government, and the 19-day quarantine announced by President Duque. Beyond the discussion, petty in some cases, political in others, about the timing of the measures taken, the truth is that, with the number of contagion cases in Colombia, no other country has acted with such speed and composure as ours. It was to be expected; the voices of anguish from Europe warn of the worst and it is unclear how many people could end up infected, a figure estimated at four million. Responded in: elpais.com.co (March 22).
Source: llaneraradio.com – Regional
Date: March 21
Headline: Situation of fuel prices in Colombia: ACP
Regarding the measure to reduce fuel prices in Colombia, adopted by the National Government within the framework of the declared emergency; the Colombian Petroleum Association (ACP), representing the wholesale fuel distribution companies, spoke out. The wholesale distribution companies are committed to ensuring the supply of fuels to Colombia, so that the country can move forward during this difficult situation, and to secure fuels for all those who need to mobilize, especially food transport vehicles, medical equipment, Public Force, among others. Likewise, we express our support and gratitude to those working on prevention and mitigation actions for this emergency.
Source: petroguia.com – National
Date: March 21
The Colombian Petroleum Association (ACP), representing the wholesale fuel distribution companies, issued a statement referring to the measure adopted by President Iván Duque's government to reduce the price of gasoline in that country by 13%. “We comply with the measure and have been preparing for its effective implementation through inventory management, as due to operational conditions and to ensure supply, wholesalers maintain inventories averaging 13 days, being the highest in the entire chain,” indicates the ACP's note.
GREMIO
Source: La República
Date: March 24
Headline: The Economic-Social Emergency in Colombia. By: Sergio Clavijo
The Duque government has been coordinating a series of economic-social actions to face the serious pandemic unleashed by Covid-19. The measures regarding the postponement of the school-university calendar, border closures, and mobility restrictions, including both passengers and cargo ferries, have proven to be correct. (…) This means that, contrary to what many think, a good part of the observed devaluation will not be reversed, as it has a structural nature. Even if oil prices were to average US$45-50 in this complicated 2020, the external gap is monumental. (…) It is not very reassuring to say that the emergency package of 1% of GDP is being financed with the cushions of the FAE, Ecopetrol, and Fonpet, as all that dis-saving will be difficult to over-compensate with our current fiscal and productive structure, which is so uncompetitive.
Source: La República
Date: March 24
Headline: Cheap stocks begin to attract large investment funds
The volatility recorded by the markets due to the fear awakened by Covid-19 is synonymous with opportunity for some investors. For example, JPMorgan reported that it has 6,85% of Repsol, which became “the second largest shareholder of the oil company, behind Sacyr, which according to the records of the National Securities Market Commission (Cnmv) still has about 8%, and ahead of BlackRock, with 4,998%,” reported the newspaper Expansión. (…) Felipe Campos, Director of Research at Alianza Valores and Fiduciaria, agreed with the previous position, adding that interest among large investors may have been awakened after oil touched the barrier of US$20, but as the market is so volatile, they are still analyzing to buy. “What they did was destroy units, meaning they sold this last week.”.
Source: Portafolio
Date: March 24
Headline: Countries, with historic measures to try to curb the collapse
The Federal Reserve of the United States (Fed) announced unlimited bond purchases, while Germany launched its largest economic plan since World War II. These strategies join those of other countries and entities in a race against time to try to curb the international economic collapse as much as possible. (…) Within this landscape, one of the most affected markets is oil, with WTI around US$22 and Brent at US$26 per barrel. “Arab countries are the ones that will continue to pump more. The rest of the nations will do so at a loss, although that will be a blow to exploration investments. In Latin America, it will also be in negative numbers, and those investments will be reduced if the price does not improve. Ecopetrol needs a barrel above US$30 to be profitable. It should be noted that it has done very well in terms of cost reduction, and that is positive for the country,” concludes Velandia.
Source: El Colombiano
Date: March 24
Headline: Quarantine and economy
With the necessary implementation of preventive isolation for three weeks, the country enters a new stage in its fight against the pandemic. The collateral effect of that drastic measure against the coronavirus is the semi-paralysis of economic activity. Days before, with the drop in oil prices a few weeks ago, as a consequence of the differences between Russia and Saudi Arabia, Ecopetrol's revenues, some small companies in the sector, and associated services were affected. Likewise, the collapse of the stock markets reduced the value of many firms. These were the first consequences, to which what may happen with the quarantine is added. (…) Given so many needs, the fiscal rule authorizes greater debt due to the economic cycle and the oil cycle. At this moment, the priority is to avoid recession and, as far as possible, the Government must increase its spending in priority areas and seek ways to finance it.
Source: El Colombiano
Date: March 24
Headline: Markets continue to decline due to covid-19
Wall Street started the week with moderate losses, as yesterday's session was marked by the lack of agreement among U.S. lawmakers on a fiscal stimulus bill to support the country's economy during the coronavirus crisis, and by the announcement of the Federal Reserve (FED) that has expanded its asset purchase plan. (…) Oil prices ended higher on Monday after an extremely volatile day. The WTI crude barrel gained 3.23 % compared to Friday, trading at 23.36 dollars. Meanwhile, the North Sea Brent barrel for May delivery rose 0.19%, to 27.03 dollars in London. Last week, WTI lost 30 % and Brent 20 %. (…) Among the most notable devaluations is the stock of the state oil company Ecopetrol, which started this year 2020 at $3.320 and is currently trading at $1.485, which represents a reduction of 55.27 %.
Source: El Colombiano
Date: March 24
Headline: Modernization of public transport in Medellín is at 42 %
Four years ago, Medellín charted the path to renew collective public transport (TPM). Improving air quality by migrating to cleaner technologies that reduce vehicle emissions is not the only objective; the search also aims to disincentivize the use of private cars and make the buses of 39 companies, spread across 260 routes, more attractive in the city. (…) Viviana Tobón expressed that the city's progress is remarkable and, in general terms, the metropolitan region is a pioneer in the modernization of collective public transport. However, the expert noted that the quality of fuel has been an obstacle, considering that just last year it was achieved that Ecopetrol delivered a diesel with 10 parts per million of sulfur for the Aburrá.
Topics
Source: El Tiempo
Date: March 24
Headline: The call to diversify
Talking about the diversification of Colombian exports amid the fight against the global coronavirus pandemic may seem, at first glance, a contradiction. After all, the global spread of covid-19 has severely impacted the exchange of goods and merchandise around the planet, as well as supply chains. (…) Last year, Colombia's external sales totaled 39.501 billion dollars, a drop of 5.7 percent compared to 2018. The explanation for that reduction lies in the decline of more than 11 percent in exports of oil, coal, and other products from the extractive industries.
Source: La República
Date: March 24
Headline: ‘Another restructuring regime is needed’
Due to the crisis generated by Covid-19, which could soon have effects on local businesses and employment, the former superintendent of Companies and current president of the Colombian Institute of Bankruptcy Law, Luis Guillermo Vélez, told Legal Affairs that the National Government should create a temporary business restructuring regime similar to that of 1999, which allows for the acceleration of reorganization processes and reduces judicial intervention. What economic repercussions do you think Covid-19 could have on the country? Colombia is facing a double crisis: the health crisis associated with Covid-19 and simultaneously another related to oil prices due to the war between Saudi Arabia and Russia. These two factors, in some way, feed into each other and both will impact the local economy. Due to this situation, it is foreseeable that in the coming months some sectors will be seriously affected. Among them could be the services sector, infrastructure, commerce, and the oil sector... All of this will have a significant impact on the country's public finances.
Source: Portafolio
Date: March 24
Headline: Uncertainty and the agricultural sector. By: Luis Arango Nieto
Recent events have filled the Colombian economy in general and the agricultural sector in particular with uncertainty. (…) At the same time, a disagreement over oil production levels in OPEC pushed prices down since January of this year and has continued to decline, so that between February 19 and March 19 of this year, the price of Brent oil went from US$59.39 to US$28.06, which represented a decrease of 52.7%. While this was happening, the price of the dollar in Colombia went from $3,410 on February 19 to $4,132 on March 19, which means an increase of 21.1%.
Source: Portafolio
Date: March 24
Headline: Who will be able to save us. By: Camilo Herrera Mora
Every problem brings its solution. This is the third major crisis in household spending that we are experiencing this century. The phenomenon is similar: low oil prices, devaluation, and rising prices. In 2008-2009, the blow came from the financial crisis that caused the fall of oil prices, and in Colombia, we were already experiencing rising inflation; in 2015-2017, it came from the significant drop in oil prices, El Niño, and the truckers' strike. In the first, it took us almost 5 years to recover per capita spending, and in the second, 4 years.
Institutional
Source: La Nación
Date: March 24
Headline: Gasoline also in quarantine
The abrupt reduction in liquid fuel prices, adopted by the government to partially alleviate the economic effects unleashed by the global coronavirus, not only put pressure on retail distributors but also jeopardized the normal supply of ‘fuel during the distressing times of the coronavirus. (…) The regional director of Fendipetróleos, Luz Mila Moyano, estimated that this rushed measure generated an unexpected destabilization in fuel prices and demand. And therefore, the future supply during this total quarantine that intensifies starting this Tuesday. The reductions of 1,200 and 800 pesos in the price of gasoline initially benefited the state-owned Colombian Petroleum Company (Ecopetrol) and the wholesale plants that continued selling at high prices, as determined by the Ministry of Mines and Energy.
Source: elnuevosiglo.com.co
Date: March 23
Headline: Fracking pilots would start at the end of 2021: Santiago
EL NUEVO SIGLO: The Government already has the Decree ready that regulates pilot tests for fracking, do you think that the respective projects will be operating this year? CARLOS ANDRÉS SANTIAGO: There are several elements, the first is that it is not so true that the Decree already allows the development of the pilots at this moment. This is the first Decree, subsequently, the technical regulations from the Ministry of Mines must come out, then the environmental regulations from the Ministry of Environment must come out, and the social regulations from the Ministry of the Interior must come out. (…) The National Authority of Environmental Licenses (ANLA) has to resolve the license. Simultaneously, the baseline lines that are mentioned as the prior requirement of the Council of State must be established, and after that, comes all the preparation part, importation of equipment, and others that are required to start the pilots.
Source: Vanguardia Liberal
Date: March 21
Headline: From today, gasoline should be lower.
Although since March 17 it was announced that in Santander the price of gasoline would be $8.097 per gallon and the Acpm $8.174, until yesterday many service stations did not reflect this reduction. Some would think that the gas stations were not complying with the measure, the Government authorizes it to be applied progressively in wholesale centers and service stations, as the existing fuel inventory prior to the determination of the measure is depleted, which could take up to a maximum of 4 days, as explained by the Ministry of Mines and Energy.
Colombian Association of Oil and Gas