ACP as a source of information
Hydrocarbons Sector
Source: El Tiempo
Date: September 04
Headline: Oil and coal continue to hinder exports
Colombian exports fell 9.9% in July compared to the same month in 2018, reaching US$3,271.1 million. The main factor was a 19.1% drop in external sales of fuels and products from the extractive industries. Meanwhile, industrial exports grew at a rate of 5.6%, according to the Done.
Source: El Tiempo
Date: September 04
Headline: Cambio Radical says that Pacific only transferred 50 million pesos
“The Pacific Rubiales Foundation only contributed 50 million pesos to Cambio Radical for campaign expenses for Congress in 2014. The money was used to position the party's image.” With these two sentences, the director of Cambio Radical, Germán Córdoba, responded to the allegation that the oil company had made unjustified transfers of more than 7.2 billion pesos to several parties, including Cambio Radical.
Source: La República
Date: September 04
Headline: Chevron prepares to exit Venezuela, exemption soon expires
Chevron Corp. is preparing to leave Venezuela in case the United States denies extending the exemption that would allow it to continue operating in the country. Throughout last year, the California-based company updated some of its contracts with partners in the South American country to allow for the possibility of early termination, according to people familiar with the matter. Under the new terms, Chevron will not incur penalties for early termination and all payments due will be prorated up to the notification date.
Source: La República
Date: September 04
Headline: Lawyers who stand out in Environmental Law
In the latest publication of Chambers & Partners, regarding outstanding professionals in environment and natural resources within Colombia, four different firms appear, each represented by a partner. (…) According to Chambers, it is highlighted for its work in environmental and natural resources, urban law, energy law, oil and gas, land management, and state contracting; the publication praised its knowledge in these areas, allowing it to have judgment on cases in the sector. Finally, Lina Uribe, partner at Gómez Pinzón, made it to the Chambers list, in first place, for leading the environmental area within the firm.
Source: La República
Date: September 04
Headline: Oil prices fell due to poor industrial data in the United States
Oil prices fell on Tuesday, following the behavior of most global markets amid concerns over the trade war between the United States and China, and after regular data on U.S. industrial activity was released. WTI oil futures lost US$1.16, or 2.1% to US$53.94 per barrel, after having fallen to US$52.84 per barrel, its lowest price since August 9.
Source: Portafolio
Date: September 04
Headline: Colombia's exports in July fell by 9.9%.
ACCORDING to export information processed by Dane and Dian, in July 2019, Colombia's external sales were 3,271.1 million dollars, which represented a decrease of 9.9% compared to July 2018. (…) In July, exports of fuels and products from extractive industries accounted for 55.0% of the total export value, with crude oil alone being 16.9 million barrels, representing a decline of 11.1% compared to July 2018.
Source: Portafolio
Date: September 04
Headline: Mining and oil companies among those that use the least water.
The mining and oil activity in the country is in the eye of the hurricane due to environmental groups, who spare no effort in criticizing them for the “excessive” use of water from water sources. However, the recent National Water Study (ENA) from the Institute of Hydrology, Meteorology and Environmental Studies (Ideam), as of 2018, concludes the opposite. According to the content of the mentioned research, mining and oil tasks together only used about 1,248 million cubic meters of water for their operation.
Source: Portafolio
Date: September 04
Headline: Juan Carlos Echeverry: from numbers to letters.
Juan Carlos Echeverry, the same one who was Minister of Finance, president of Ecopetrol, and director of the National Planning Department (DNP), the same economist and analyst who dissects figures and writes macroeconomic essays, turned out to be a storyteller and novelist. But it wasn't overnight, as one might think. He was a writer before becoming an economist in his adolescence. “When I left school, before dedicating myself to numbers, I wrote two or three stories a week,” says Echeverry.
Source: Portafolio
Date: September 04
Headline: What is happening with the Colombian industry – By: Cecilia López Montaño.
In a recent report from Portafolio, a serious problem of the Colombian industry is raised that does not seem to concern, as it should, the production guilds that represent it in the country. (…) The serious issue with fracking is not only the environmental cost but that with a greater export supply of oil, the possibility of promoting other productive sectors that do generate employment and well-being for currently marginalized populations will be indefinitely postponed. But what is concerning is that it is comfortable to continue exporting commodities, and both the industry and the government are playing into that.
Source: Portafolio
Date: September 04
Headline: What do you know about PVC? Low recycling rates in the country.
Those who have received intravenous serum or donated blood probably do not know that the bag used in the procedure was made of polyvinyl chloride, what we know as PVC. This fact should not surprise us, as this material, being flexible, durable, and acting as a barrier to external pathogenic agents, is now used in approximately 40% of all medical devices made of plastic in the world. PVC requires 60% common salt and 40% ethylene for its production, obtained from petroleum or from biofuels such as those derived from sugarcane. It can be recycled up to eight times, allowing new products to be created that will have a lifespan equivalent to that of the original. It is a raw material whose use can extend around 500 years, considering that some products (such as pipes) are estimated to last up to 70 years of use.
Source: El Nuevo Siglo
Date: September 04
Headline: With unconventional deposits, gas reserves would increase to 40 years: Ecopetrol
On September 10, the Council of State would decide on a plea filed by the Government regarding the provisional suspension of fracking. This decision would be key to opening the possibility for the exploration of unconventional deposits in national territory. During a political control debate held yesterday in the Fifth Commission of the Senate, the president of Ecopetrol, Felipe Bayón, stated that with unconventional deposits, the country's reserves of oil and gas could grow significantly. “We need to go verify the potential; the pilots of the unconventional would allow us to understand if the potential is real, but if you add the liquids and gas, Colombia could go from 6 years of oil reserves to 20, 25, or 30 years of reserves. And in gas, we could go from 10 to 40, 50, or 60 years,” he stated.
Source: El Colombiano (Medellín)
Date: September 04
Headline: OIL PRICES FALL AGAIN
According to information published by Afp, in the London market, the Brent reference barrel for delivery in November fell by about 0.7%, reaching 58.26 dollars per barrel. On the other hand, in the New York market, crude oil for October dropped 2.1%: it closed at 53.94 dollars.
Source: Vanguardia Liberal (Bucaramanga)
Date: September 04
Headline: More than 50% of municipalities in Santander do not have natural gas
Santander has 440,418 natural gas users in 39 of the 87 municipalities in the region, which represented a variation of 51% compared to 2017, which had 420,000 users in 2018. The coverage is 48%. However, 48 municipalities are still not connected to this service, representing more than 438,097 inhabitants. This means more than 50% of municipalities without natural gas. This was reported by Promigas in the twentieth edition of the Natural Gas Sector Report 2019, which presents consolidated figures from 2018.
Source: El Heraldo (Barranquilla)
Date: September 04
Headline: Oil exacerbates decline in exports
The drop in external sales volumes of oil caused the country's exports to register a sharp decline of 9.91% in July of this year compared to the same month in 2018, with exported amounts reaching USD 3.271 billion.
Source: El Nuevo Día (Ibagué)
Date: September 04
Headline: Exports in Tolima fell 32.21% between January and July
According to the latest technical export bulletin (Expo), conducted by the National Administrative Department of Statistics (Dane) and the National Tax and Customs Directorate (Dian), external sales from Tolima between January and July 2019 fell by 32.21% compared to the same period in 2018. According to the report, in the first seven months of the current year, Tolima exported 43 million 450 thousand dollars excluding the oil sector, about 20 million less than the accumulated total for the region in 2018, when the figure reached 64 million 056 thousand dollars.
Source: El Frente B/manga
Date: September 04
Headline: Environmental pollution from the spill in Vereda Campo Seis
A new attack on Ecopetrol's infrastructure occurred at the La Cira Infantas field in Santander when unknown individuals managed to puncture a six-inch line, causing an oil spill and environmental contamination in the area. According to the state oil company, the incident occurred near the Vereda Campo Seis where unscrupulous individuals performed a mechanical cut on the pipeline, resulting in contamination of the ecosystem.
Regional News
Source: Javeriana Estéreo
Date: September 03
Headline: Front Page: Ecopetrol will hold auctions for the commercialization of gas from Floreña and Cupiagua
Source: llanosietedias.com
Date: September 03
Headline: Oil protests
A group of 26 workers protested in front of the Castilla 3 Station for the payment of wages. Ecopetrol rejected the actions and responded to the protests. According to information known by Llano7días, things are not calm in the municipality of Castilla La Nueva regarding the labor relationship between some employees of the oil companies and these same companies. The protest began on August 30 by some workers in this sector. This situation occurred at the Castilla 3 Station and the PIA project located in the Cacayal village, municipality of Castilla La Nueva, a completely oil-producing area where a significant impact has been generated by the influence of this activity. (…) The Colombian oil company warned that this situation involves employees of the companies Otacc n and MTZ Servinci, so if the situation continues, they would be forced to terminate the labor obligations with the companies, leaving more than a thousand people unemployed, the entity assured.
Colombian Association of Oil and Gas