ACP as a source of information
Source: La República – National
Date: April 16
Headline: Oil prices down due to fears of consumption falling to 1995 levels
Oil prices are not recovering as days go by due to the containment measures against the virus adopted by the governments of several countries. By 2:30 p.m. yesterday, Brent was at US$27.91 and WTI at US$20.24 per barrel. (…) Regarding this situation, Francisco José Lloreda Mera, president of the Colombian Petroleum Association (ACP), stated that “estimates indicate that hydrocarbon demand may have fallen by 30%, meaning around 30 million barrels per day are not being consumed, therefore, the almost 10 million cut from OPEC has not had the expected effect on the market.” (…) The uncertainty recorded in the global crude market is also reflected in the behavior of the shares of the world's major oil companies. The stock of Royal Dutch Shell fell by 7.37% and BP Plc (formerly British Petroleum) plummeted by 6.66%. In the American continent, the shares of oil companies also recorded red figures. For example, Exxon Mobil had a drop of 4.08%, Ecopetrol collapsed by 5.84%, and Petrobras retreated by 2.68%. Replicated in: larepublica.co (April 16), realidad-armenia.co (April 16), noticias-tunja.co (April 16), noticiaspasto.co (April 16).
Source: Radio Red – Regional
Date: April 15
GREMIO
Source: La República
Date: April 16
Headline: There are 29 companies authorized to participate in oil auctions
The National Hydrocarbons Agency (ANH), chaired by Armando Zamora, revealed the preliminary list of companies authorized to participate in the next cycle of the Permanent Area Assignment Process (Ppaa). According to the entity, a total of 29 firms met the requirements to not only participate in the auctions but also propose new areas of interest. (…) Although the Ministry of Mines and Energy has not yet set a date for the next auction, it is estimated that it could take place in the second half of the year. Among the already authorized companies that could participate in the next round are Ecopetrol, Parex Resources (Colombia) Ltd, Gran Tierra Energy Colombia, Geopark Colombia S.A.S., Amerisur Exploración Colombia Limited, Noble Energy Limited, Petróleos Sud Americanos, and Cnooc Petroleum Colombia Limited, among others.
Source: La República
Date: April 16
Headline: Ecopetrol received credit to guarantee liquidity
Ecopetrol reported that a contingent financing line of US$665 million was disbursed to preserve a solid cash position in the current situation and ensure its liquidity. According to the company, the credit line was contracted with Scotiabank for US$430 million and Mizuho Bank for US$235 million. The company also obtained approval to contract short-term financing with local and international entities for an amount of US$410 million. (…) According to Ecopetrol, the group's cash position now reaches around US$3,700 million, and it is noteworthy that the gross debt/Ebitda indicator, reported as of December of the previous year, would increase from 1.2x to 1.4x due to the new financing.
Source: La República
Date: April 16
Headline: AFPs, those with the most net purchases in the Stock Exchange in March
During March, equity markets experienced significant devaluations amid the increase in Covid-19 infections and its spread worldwide. (…) In addition to the preferred shares of Bancolombia ($311.465 million), the stocks that foreigners sold the most were those of Ecopetrol, for $70.950 million, and the preferred shares of Aval, for $66.342 million. These exits of foreigners from the local market were reflected in the exchange rate, which reached historic highs in the third month of the year. Due to fears of a global slowdown, risk aversion increased. (…) In March, the preferred shares of Bancolombia ($847.184 million) and those of Ecopetrol ($581.066 million) were the most traded. According to Andrés Moreno, a stock analyst, this is because they are among the most liquid stocks on the Stock Exchange.
Source: La República
Date: April 16
Headline: Colcap fell 0.5% to 1,204 units
The Colcap, the main indicator of the Colombian Stock Exchange, joined the day of declines experienced by stock markets globally. The results of retail sales in the U.S. and the first corporate results in the first quarter suggest that the global economy will indeed have its largest contraction since the Great Depression. The index closed with a drop of 0.58% and reached 1,204.01 units. The stocks most affected by this behavior were Ecopetrol, which had a contraction of 5.84% to reach $2.095. The state-owned company was harmed by a day when oil prices fell, to the point that the WTI benchmark traded below US$20 at times during the day. After Ecopetrol, the stock that fell the most was Fabricato, with a variation of -5.52% to $4.45.
Source: El Nuevo Siglo
Date: April 16
Headline: Ecopetrol increases operational liquidity
A plan to maintain the liquidity of its operations was established by Ecopetrol. Through a statement, the company informed of two strategies to maintain its cash flow during the pandemic. For the company, “the liquidity position of the company will be strengthened in a high uncertainty environment where cash protection is a fundamental objective.” Thus, it will disburse a contingent financing line of US$665 million and will sign short-term financing contracts for US$410 million. Regarding disbursing the total resources associated with the contingent credit line, the company explains that it will be US$665 million contracted with Scotiabank (US$430 million) and Mizuho Bank (US$235 million).
Source: Dinero
Date: April 16
Headline: No to the sale of companies
In an informal session before Congress, the Deputy Minister of Finance, Juan Alberto Londoño, confirmed that the Government does not intend to sell its stake in the more than 100 companies in which the Nation has a ‘slice.‘ According to the official, «it is not the time» and this rules out the proposal from some economists who called for the divestment of, for example, another piece of Ecopetrol or a part of ISA. Instead, the strategy to face the coronavirus and the drop in oil prices is directed towards seeking internal resources (such as the loan from Fonpet or those intended from the sale of Isagen), as well as issuing more public debt, which depends on the approval of the Advisory Committee of the Fiscal Rule.
Source: Vanguardia Liberal
Date: April 16
Headline: Ecopetrol strengthens measures and reduces personnel traffic
Work within the facilities of the Ecopetrol refinery in Barrancabermeja to contain the spread of COVID-19 continues at full speed. The most recent actions of the work that the state oil company is carrying out with the National Institute of Health and the District allowed for the expansion of testing to a group of 20 workers, for a total of 37 tests conducted. As the company explained, two types of tests were taken: clinical laboratory tests in serum to verify if people had the virus and did not show symptoms, and others with swabs that collect samples from the pharyngeal area to check for the presence of the disease. The tests were sent by the INS to the network of authorized laboratories in the country.
Source: El Frente
Date: April 16
Headline: Alarm over contagion at Ecopetrol Refinery
With the death of Juan Manuel Beltrán Fonseca, union leader and former official of the Ecopetrol Refinery in Barrancabermeja, alarms were raised in all sectors of the port community due to the expanding wave of the pandemic that has infected other people in the family and work environment of the company. The mayor of Barrancabermeja, Alfonso Eljach Manrique, has intensified health control for the entire population, reminding citizens that it is necessary to comply with the orders of mandatory confinement until the threat and danger to the inhabitants of the oil port cease. The mayor demanded that the contracting firms of ECOPETROL and the general public comply with biosecurity protocols, including the use of face masks, hand gloves, and the distance that people must maintain when leaving their homes to go to the market, banks, clinics, and hospitals in the region.
Source: El Frente
Date: April 16
Headline: Isolation of Ecopetrol workers continues
Several of these workers had contact with the employee of this company who died as a victim of COVID-19. Experts from the National Institute of Health (INS) are working with Ecopetrol and the District Health Secretariat to expand the epidemiological cordon in the city. A team of officials from the National Institute of Health traveled to the Ecopetrol Refinery in Barrancabermeja to verify the control and safety measures adopted by the company, after a 49-year-old worker died from COVID-19. According to reports issued by this entity, there are currently 37 workers who had close contact with the man who died from the virus, who are isolated and in stable health, according to the authorities.
Source: La W Radio
Date: April 16
Topics
Source: La República
Date: April 16
Headline: The deficit would border 5% and would be the highest since the creation of the fiscal rule
The deficit in the State's accounts this year will be the largest since the implementation of the fiscal rule in 2012, according to projections from the Ministry of Finance itself and the main economic research centers in the country. (…) However, despite the alarming forecast from the Ministry of Finance that shows the magnitude of the impact the economy is suffering due to the crisis, which includes the drop in oil prices, the calculations from Anif, Corficolombiana, and Fedesarrollo are even more pessimistic.
Source: La República
Date: April 16
Headline: Choosing tragedies. By: Leopoldo Ferguson
As in classical tragedy, fate is inexorable. No matter the efforts, there will be a painful toll of lives lost due to Covid-19 and a damaged economy. (…) There are many sources of uncertainty. One crucial factor is that we do not know the behavior of the economy moderating the distancing obligations. In any case, there would be many lives battered by the recession, as Colombia suffers from the collapse of oil prices, the disruption of international trade, the fear of consumers and businesses, many of whom, cautiously, would isolate themselves even if it were not mandatory, etc.
Source: Portafolio
Date: April 16
Headline: Drop in natural gas demand in the country
In the last month, during which Colombians have been confined to their homes due to mandatory preventive isolation, the demand for natural gas in the national territory has noticeably decreased. For their part, the producing, transporting, and distributing companies grouped in the Colombian Association of Natural Gas (Naturgas) remain committed to taking the necessary measures to guarantee the fuel service in homes, businesses, industries, and energy generators.
Source: Portafolio
Date: April 16
Headline: Financing the blow. By: Francisco Miranda Hamburger
If there is one thing clear at this point in the coronavirus pandemic in Colombia, it is that the magnitude of its impacts on the economy will be high but even today they are difficult to calculate. A similar dilemma is faced by the State's finances. As the quarantine and social distancing measures that paralyze the economy extend, the demands for help from productive sectors, companies, households, and individuals to the State increase. (…) To this is added the historic collapse of oil prices, the impact of which will be felt by public finances next year.
Source: Portafolio
Date: April 16
Headline: The IEA forecasts historic drop in oil demand
The International Energy Agency (IEA) predicted a historic drop in global oil demand in 2020, of -9.3 million barrels per day (mbd), due to the paralysis generated by the covid-19 pandemic. This «historic» drop, a consequence of the confinement measures, will cause global consumption to return to its 2012 level, down to 90.6 mbd, according to the agency based in Paris. In April, the IEA predicts a drop in demand of 29 million barrels per day compared to 2019, unprecedented figures in a century.
Source: Dinero
Date: April 16
Headline: We should not depend solely on oil
When the price of crude rises, it is good news for the Government's finances, which thus has the possibility of increasing social investment. But for the country in general, this dependence on volatile oil prices is not beneficial. Juan Camilo Arévalo Mesa, Toronto (Canada), via Facebook.
Source: Dinero
Date: April 16
Headline: Everything that goes down…
The strong devaluation of the markets during March will hit the profitability of investment portfolios hard. One must remain calm and think long-term. One of the most complicated months in investment history has just ended. The isolation measures imposed in many countries to curb the spread of the coronavirus and the price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia collapsed stock markets worldwide. U.S. stock markets fell faster than ever, and practically stocks around the world fell double digits, given that nearly half of the population is in quarantine and many sectors are paralyzed. The S&P, for example, had a drop of 17.41% just in March.
Source: Dinero
Date: April 16
Headline: More cuts are coming.
The expectations of oil producers were focused on the agreement of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC, with Russia, to cut production and achieve a rebound in prices. The mega-agreement was reached last week at the behest of Donald Trump, who played a key role in the cut of 9.7 million barrels per day for two months. But the market remained distrustful with very volatile prices at the close of this edition. In this situation, Saudi Arabia's Minister of Energy, Abdulaziz bin Salman, said that the cuts could take at least 19.5 million barrels per day out of the market, according to the AFR agency. With this new round of cuts, producers hope that prices will finally react.
Institutional
Source: El Tiempo
Date: April 16
Headline: The prior consultation is now virtual.
In the circular issued by the Ministry of Interior, indigenous and Afro communities are informed that, due to the health emergency, prior consultations must be conducted virtually. However, several experts criticized the measure, as many of them lack connectivity.
Source: El Colombiano
Date: April 16
Headline: Natural gas consumption falls by 35%.
After a positive 2019 for the natural gas market in Antioquia, where the arrival of the fuel to several towns was observed or an increase in vehicle conversions, the last month has been challenging for companies that transport and distribute the hydrocarbon. “The coronavirus pandemic has had a negative impact on the economy, halted the country's productive apparatus, and reduced energy demand,” said Julio Turizzo Villalba, manager of Transmetano, a subsidiary of Promigás. (…) For his part, Orlando Cabrales, president of the Colombian Natural Gas Association (Naturgás), told EL COLOMBIANO that on average, the drop in energy consumption in the country is 30%. “Obviously, there are some sectors that have been more impacted than others. For example, in CNG, there are areas where the reduction is almost 90%,” he specified. (…) Image. Natural gas accounts in Antioquia. Source: MinEnergía and Transmetano.
Colombian Association of Oil and Gas