ACP as a source of information
Source: eleconomistaamerica.co – National
Date: April 16
Headline: Low prices threaten private oil companies in Colombia
Private oil companies in Colombia will cut production, reduce exploration, and some could close completely if prices remain at current levels and production costs remain high, said the leader of the association of private crude producers. (…) »If no fundamental measures are taken, such as reducing pipeline tariffs, we will see many projects from private companies, even some private companies, shutting down operations in Colombia (…) if prices continue below 30 dollars per barrel,» said Francisco José Lloreda, president of the Colombian Petroleum Association (ACP), to Reuters. (…) Although the state-owned Ecopetrol produces most of the oil in Colombia, private companies produced 342,700 barrels of oil per day in January, according to the ACP. Some private companies have already made decisions to reduce production, including Canadian firms Frontera Energy and Parex Resources. Responded in: radiosantafe.com (April 16), ita.reuters.com (April 16), americaeconomia.com (April 16), infobae.com (April 16), forbes.co (April 16).
GREMIO
Source: El Nuevo Siglo
Date: April 17
Headline: Daily oil demand will fall by 6.81 million barrels due to the pandemic
An unprecedented decline since 2009 in global oil demand is forecasted by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) for 2020. This is due to the shutdown caused by the pandemic of the new coronavirus, which will trigger an “extreme and brutal shock,” of global magnitude in the oil market. According to its monthly forecasts released yesterday, it estimates that global crude consumption will be 92.82 million barrels per day (mbd) in 2020, which represents a reduction of 6.85 mbd compared to 2019. The International Energy Agency (IEA), based in Paris, had already predicted on Wednesday a “historic” drop in crude demand, forecasting an average global consumption of 90.6 mbd for the year. It will be the first annual decline in global oil consumption since 2009, in addition to the imminent financial crisis. (…) Shell will reduce carbon emissions. The Anglo-Dutch oil giant Royal Dutch Shell promised that it will achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, thus matching the commitment made by its rival BP.
Source: El Frente
Date: April 17
Headline: Refinery workers remain confined at Club Miramar in Barrancabermeja
Workers from the Barrancabermeja Refinery, exposed to the risk of contagion from the coronavirus pandemic, were confined and isolated at Club Miramar while their health status is monitored, following the death of their colleague Juan Manuel Beltrán Fonseca, a leader of the USO union, who died in a clinic in Floridablanca due to the deadly Covid-19 infection. The emergence of the pandemic at the hydrocarbon refining plant triggered a huge reaction from ECOPETROL workers, who demanded health protection measures so that the facilities of the industrial complex could operate. The quarantine inside Club Miramar, temporarily converted into a recovery clinic for the health of the workers, is being carried out within the protocols established by the Health Department, after it was confirmed that there were other people from the family and work environment who were also infected and are in the recovery process.
Source: semana.com
Date: April 17
Headline: Coronavirus: what’s next for Bogotá after April 27
SEMANA reveals the plans of Mayor Claudia López to face the pandemic once the national confinement is partially lifted and some sectors of the economy are reactivated. This is what may happen. Although no one knows for sure if President Iván Duque will extend the quarantine, he has been making announcements that reflect that the confinement will not be total after April 27, as has been the case so far. (…) Some hospitals have also been selected to care for infected individuals. In the north, Simón Bolívar hospital; in the center, Santa Clara; in the south, El Tunal; and in the southwest, Fontibón hospital. (…) Additionally, fluid-resistant uniforms for doctors have been purchased from manufacturers such as Lafayet, Arturo Calle, and Ecopetrol. What is needed are more N95 masks.
Source: Forbes.co
Date: April 17
Headline: The moment of decisions
“Colombians can be assured that we are doing what is necessary to guarantee the supply of natural gas,” says Astrid Álvarez, president of GEB. The challenges to ensure the supply of natural gas are significant for the players in the natural gas chain. (…) We view Ecopetrol's announcements regarding the possible entry of the Orca Field in 2024, located 40 kilometers off the coast of Punta Gallinas (La Guajira), with great optimism, and it is expected to produce 100 to 200 million cubic feet per day (MPCD). Connecting that field with the Ballena station would bring benefits to the entire natural gas sector. (…) The Ministry of Mines and Energy is in the process of updating the Natural Gas Supply Plan where, in addition to the mentioned plant, we expect other relevant projects that represent infrastructure investments exceeding USD 200 million, which will benefit nearly 10 million natural gas users in the country.
Source: caracol.com.co
Date: April 17
Headline: INS team arrived in Barrancabermeja to study COVID-19 cases
A special group from the National Institute of Health arrived in Barrancabermeja to investigate the COVID-19 cases that have occurred in the region. This is because the latest reported cases would correspond to contagion and would have been spread by the same person. «There are different versions, and one of them is that contact was had with people coming from Spain, and that is precisely what the INS is investigating,» said Javier Villamizar, Secretary of Health of Santander. The first case of contagion in the ‘Oil Port’ was a worker from Ecopetrol, who died in an ICU in Bucaramanga due to health complications.
Topics
Source: El Tiempo
Date: April 17
Headline: If the health situation stabilizes, Colombia could lead the region: IMF
Until a month and a half ago, Colombia's economic growth forecasts stood out among the best in the continent. But the pandemic arrived and changed the landscape. Alejandro Werner, director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the Western Hemisphere, closely examines the country's alternatives, whether it is viable for the Bank of the Republic to lend to the Government, how far fiscal targets can be maintained, and assesses the Government's responses to the crisis. (…) While the necessary domestic closure efforts to mitigate the crisis are the main reason for the recession – with a sudden interruption of activity in the second quarter of 2020 – similar measures elsewhere are expected to lead to a global contraction this year and decrease Colombia's exports. Additionally, lower oil prices in recent months will further hinder growth.
Source: La República
Date: April 17
Headline: Food chain: a basis for a new development bet. By: Arturo García, Nury Bejarano, and Jimena Iguavita
The urgency of the health crisis generated by Covid-19 should not prevent us from thinking about the future. Hospital care is like a 100-meter race; social and economic reconstruction will be a marathon. Anticipating the scenarios we will face will allow us to identify opportunities to work on and not be mere spectators to the ebb and flow of events. (…) It should also be made explicit that Colombia is not an oil country when compared internationally in terms of available reserves; however, our fiscal accounts depend too much on the resources generated there. The pandemic led to a drop in oil demand and a collapse in its price. This situation exposes the weak foundations of the country's growth, which need to be rethought.
Source: La República
Date: April 17
Headline: The right bets. By: Julián Arévalo
In this context, one of the most frequent debate topics is whether it will contribute to generating a change in the trends of economic, social, and political dynamics, or if it will be an accelerator of dynamics that were already in development. The question is whether, like any crisis, an opportunity can arise from here to give a different direction to issues that have historically been problematic. (…) At the tax level, the problem of inequities and inefficiencies has been widely diagnosed, and there has been a lack of political will to correct them. The financing needs for spending that the Colombian state already had, which are now exacerbated by the situation generated by Covid-19 and the drop in oil prices, make it unfeasible to continue talking about tax reductions, as promised in political campaigns and effectively occurred in the last tax reform.
Source: La República
Date: April 17
Headline: OPEC reduces its oil demand estimate
OPEC cut its forecast for global oil demand for this year on Thursday due to the coronavirus pandemic and said that the adjustment of estimates may not be the last. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) now estimates a contraction in global demand of 6.9 million barrels per day, or 6.9%, in 2020, as indicated in a monthly report. Last month, OPEC expected a slight increase in demand of 60,000 bpd. «Downside risks remain significant, suggesting the possibility of further adjustments, especially in the second quarter,» OPEC said about the demand forecast. «The oil market is experiencing a historic shock that is abrupt, extreme, and global in scale.".
Source: La República
Date: April 17
Headline: No to online prior consultation
Former Environment Minister Luis Gilberto Murillo (1967) has been one of the latest voices calling for the revocation of the Interior Ministry's circular stating that indigenous and Afro communities will conduct prior consultations virtually due to the quarantine. According to him, this is unconstitutional, negatively affects them, and disregards the situation in which these communities live.
Source: Portafolio
Date: April 17
Headline: 68%
It is the decline in global oil consumption that OPEC estimates for this year. This loss, according to the organization in its market study, is «historic» and «unprecedented,» the current global situation seems to represent the perfect storm of demand destruction,» highlights the report published yesterday.
Source: Portafolio
Date: April 17
Headline: Latin America, with negative projection
The rating agency Fitch warned this Thursday of a downward trend in Latin America's ratings and revealed that it has placed seven countries on negative outlook for the first time due to the impact of the covid-19 pandemic, while its analysts analyze the risks of default due to the «multitude of shocks they face.‘ (…) The agency downgraded Mexico's rating to BBB- with stable outlook on Wednesday, the lowest investment grade, due to covid-19 and the drop in oil prices, and yesterday noted that Argentina, Ecuador, and Suriname are in category C, which precedes default, having ’extreme financial suffering.».
Source: El Colombiano
Date: April 17
Headline: The pandemic, the possible, the probable, and the desirable. By: Henry Medina Uribe
In my last column, I commented on the lessons and tasks that arise from this pandemic, from two ethical conceptions: the “being” and the “ought to be.” I referred, from this second perspective, to the unique opportunity to build a new, fairer order, starting from a new social consciousness and an economic system that controls the inhumane market economy that currently governs the world, so that we achieve a stage where life is more important than the selfish achievements of power. (…) Likely, as well, the slowdown in globalization, the decline in the importance of oil, and the weakening of the European Union.
Source: Vanguardia Liberal
Date: April 17
Headline: Reduction
The Colombian Chamber of Oil Goods and Services (Campetrol) revealed that the number of active drills in Colombia stood at 91 units in March. This figure translated into a reduction of 32%, as in the same period last year there were 138.
Institutional
Source: El Tiempo
Date: April 17
Headline: SIC initiates administrative processes against 83 gas stations
The Superintendence of Industry and Commerce (SIC) opened administrative processes against 83 service stations in the country for failing to disclose to consumers the adjustment in fuel prices, as stipulated by the Government. These stations announce one price on the billboard, another at the pump, and do not update it in the Simel system of the Ministry of Mines, in order to take advantage of the consumer. The findings of the oversight body are such that it has already referred some of these cases to the Attorney General for criminal proceedings.
Source: Portafolio
Date: April 17
Headline: Vichada and deep waters of the Caribbean, new oil bet
In terms of developing oil blocks, the National Government has stepped on the accelerator, and in a bid to keep the hydrocarbon reactivation afloat, it will offer many more areas for crude oil and natural gas production than are usually displayed in the showcase. (…) Thus, they established that the country can offer new blocks for oil development distributed across 17 of the 24 basins (onshore and offshore) that together total just over 56 million hectares. (…) Likewise, the entity will offer blocks for oil development in deep waters, located in the Colombia basin, to the north and adjacent to the Sinú Offshore basin. Additionally, the ANH plans to promote offshore areas off the Pacific coast, in the Tumaco Offshore and Chocó Offshore basins.
Source: La W Radio
Date: April 17
Colombian Association of Oil and Gas