ACP as a source of information
Source: lagrannoticia.com – Regional
Author: Amylkar D. Acosta Medina
Date: May 12
Headline: Hecatomb
The tail end of the collapse of oil prices. The figures released by Ecopetrol President Felipe Bayón are revealing about the repercussions of the contraction in demand, concomitantly with the collapse of international oil prices. (…) It is not foreseeable that with the global economic recession that, according to the IMF, will be the worst in 90 years [7], oil prices will return in the short or medium term to levels exceeding US $50 per barrel. According to figures from the Colombian Petroleum Association (ACP), exploratory investment by the oil industry will fall this year from US $640 million to only US $270 million, with a drop of 60%, in oil production investment will decrease to US $530 million. Only Ecopetrol has cut its investment plan for 2020 by US $1.200 million.
GREMIO
Source: La República
Date: May 13
Headline: Avianca closes a seven-year story on Wall Street
On November 6, 2013, Avianca went public on the New York Stock Exchange (Nyse) with the hope of raising capital to modernize and expand the airline. With an initial price of US$15 per share, it joined the group of companies with Colombian capital, such as Bancolombia, Ecopetrol, Grupo Éxito, ISA, Nutresa, and Isagén, that were listed on that stock market. (…) Once this process is completed, there will only be four companies with Colombian capital listed on exchanges in the North American country. Three on Nyse (Ecopetrol, Bancolombia, and Grupo Aval) and one on Nasdaq (Tecnoglass).
Source: La República
Date: May 13
Headline: Ecopetrol's investment plan was reduced to US$3.000 million for 2020
An action plan on four fronts is Ecopetrol's new bet to face the price crisis and the advance of the pandemic. It is a strategy focused on savings and efficiencies, and in which investments for this year are expected to range between US$2.500 million and US$3.000 million. The new figure, revealed by the company's president, Felipe Bayón, is in response to the low Brent prices and the high operating costs faced by the oil company. Although an initial budget of up to US$5.500 million was set for this year, this situation led the firm to adjust the amounts, as well as to implement an austerity program. (…) In the line of renewable projects, the executive confirmed that progress continues with the maturation of other projects for 120 megawatts. In addition, they expect to award this year the construction of the San Fernando Solar Park, located in Meta.
Source: El Colombiano
Date: May 13
Headline: Gradual opening boosts fuel demand
The Barrancabermeja refinery, of the oil company Ecopetrol, had to increase its operations by 22 % over the weekend to respond to the gradual increase in fuel demand within the country. This was reported by the company in a statement, in which it specified that currently the oil complex operates with a total of 9 out of 54 plants, and that this week it operates with a vital minimum of 1,350 workers, including direct employees and contractors.
Source: El Colombiano
Date: May 13
Headline: The colcap index starts today at 1,089.29 points
In yesterday's stock market session, the indicator contracted by 1.34%. The most traded stocks were: preferred Bancolombia, Ecopetrol, and Bancolombia (ordinary). The most appreciated stock was Éxito (8.15%), while the largest depreciation was marked by Avianca (85.33%).
Source: El Colombiano
Date: May 13
Headline: State firms: what to sell due to the crisis?
“State companies are, on average, one third less productive than private ones,” that is the conclusion reached by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) after analyzing one million companies in 109 countries. The situation becomes even more critical considering the resource needs that nations have for the emergency. (…) Ecopetrol holds 88.4%, and it is the most important firm as, in terms of accounting equity, it registers nearly 50.6 trillion pesos. Last year, Juan Pablo Córdova, president of the Colombian Stock Exchange (BVC), said that the possibility of selling another 8.51% of the company should be considered, a deal that already has the approval of Congress, and according to Anif calculations from 2019, would leave 9.5 trillion pesos (see What’s next?).
Source: El Heraldo
Date: May 13
Headline: 12 trillion would stop being received by the Nation due to the oil crisis
With an average oil barrel price of USD30, a figure projected by analysts, the Nation's income from oil rent and dividends will decrease by about 12 trillion, while territorial entities would stop receiving about 6 trillion from royalties. This is stated by former Minister of Mines and Energy and energy sector expert Amylkar Acosta, who explains that it is not just Ecopetrol, but the entire oil industry that is being impacted by the collapse of prices and the drop in production as a result. (…) Amylkar Acosta assures that it is likely that this year will repeat what happened in 2016, when Ecopetrol did not distribute dividends for the first time due to losses of 13.9 trillion recorded the previous year. In 2019, the dividends received by the Nation were about 18.1 trillion, to which 3.6 trillion from extraordinary reserves were added, with which the State received about USD11.7 trillion from the company.
Source: El Heraldo
Date: May 13
Headline: Ecopetrol increases crude oil load in Barranca by 221%
The company increased the crude oil load it processes by 140,000 barrels per day due to increased demand for fuels in the country.
Source: El Heraldo
Date: May 13
Headline: Aqueduct networks in Riohacha will be expanded
With an investment of 17,001,595,831, the works for the expansion of the aqueduct networks in Riohacha will be carried out through the Tax Works mechanism and with the direct execution of the company Ecopetrol. 12,885 inhabitants will benefit from these works.
Source: Vanguardia Liberal
Date: May 13
Headline: Ecopetrol announced a positive increase in its crude oil load
A gradual recovery in all its processes is what Ecopetrol announced yesterday, which warned, among other aspects, of an increase of 22% in its crude oil load. According to the numbers from the state oil company, this increase represents raising the crude oil load processed at the Barrancabermeja Refinery to 140,000 barrels per day, thus responding to the increase in fuel demand within the country.
Source: Vanguardia Liberal
Date: May 13
Headline: Ecopetrol Profits
The crisis of international oil prices and the advance of COVID-19 took a toll on Ecopetrol in the first quarter of the year. The company reported its net profits as of March at $133,000 million, which translated into a drop of 95.2% compared to 2019.
Source: El Frente
Date: May 13
Headline: Santander Always With You in neighborhoods of Bucaramanga
Thanks to the solidarity of the Santander Always With You campaign, Ecopetrol S.A and the Red Cross Sectional Santander, 58 vulnerable families from the neighborhoods 12 de octubre and 23 de junio in Bucaramanga received food aid to cope with the quarantine period. This campaign, led by social manager Genny Sarmiento Díaz, has delivered more than 24,000 food aids to vulnerable households in the department across all provinces of Santander.
Source: llanoalmundo.com
Date: May 13
Headline: Workers at the Villavicencio prison receive special biosecurity suits
Guard personnel, assigned to the National Penitentiary and Prison Institute (INPEC) of the Villavicencio prison, received a donation of 110 special biosecurity suits from the Gente Ecopetrol Foundation (GE) and 50 more from Ecopetrol workers. The outfits aim to strengthen the epidemiological containment barrier at that penal center in the capital of Meta. Next week, an additional 40 units are expected to be delivered. (…) Since March 20, the GE Foundation has been promoting among employees, retirees of Ecopetrol and Cenit, its subsidiary for hydrocarbon transportation and logistics, the donation of one day's salary or an amount of free choice to support the most affected families, an initiative that also saw volunteers joining through deposits on the PSE platform.
Topics
Source: Portafolio
Date: May 13
Headline: By 2022, the country's debt should stabilize: Moody’s
The country's fiscal metrics had already reflected high data prior to the shocks of the coronavirus and low oil prices, a situation that has made the outlook much more complex and, therefore, has lowered expectations for improvement in this area. In an exclusive interview with Portafolio, Renzo Merino, vice president of the sovereign risk group at Moody’s and the analyst responsible for Colombia's rating, explained that considering the data recently provided by the Advisory Committee of the Fiscal Rule, which estimates a limit of 6.1% of deficit for this year, along with an economic contraction of 5.5%, the ratio of the Central National Government (GNC) debt would come much closer to 60% as a proportion of GDP, and it could even be higher: 62%.
Source: Portafolio
Date: May 13
Headline: OPEC countries will make production cuts
Given the current situation, in which oil prices have remained around US$30 per unit for weeks, several OPEC countries are taking new measures to try to reduce market supply and thus boost crude prices. Specifically, OPEC+ reached an agreement a few weeks ago to cut production by nearly 10 million barrels per day, a measure that Saudi Arabia complemented this week by ensuring that it requested the state oil company, Aramco, to stop pumping around an additional million.
Institutional
Source: Portafolio
Date: May 13
Headline: More natural gas imports
Natural gas imports have been gaining ground in the country, and to date they would practically be close to 40% of the national supply. The causes lie not only in the drop in the price of a barrel of oil and the COVID-19 pandemic, but also in the slowdown in hydrocarbon production at the local level and the competitiveness of fuel rates in the international market. (…) In the case of Ecopetrol, the pumping of the mentioned fuel at the end of the first quarter of this year reached 102,700 barrels, compared to 101,900 barrels in the same period of 2019, representing an 1% growth. For its part, records from the Ministry of Mines and Energy indicate that last March gas production was 1,057 million cubic feet per day (mpcpd), which means a reduction of 7.5% compared to the figure recorded in February 2020 (1,143 mpcpd).
Source: Extra Llano
Date: May 12
Headline: «The river is going to take my house»
A resident of the area reports that, to protect one of its oil spills, Ecopetrol built a wall that diverts the Ocoa River, which has affected the families living there. Teodosio Riveros, who has lived for 69 years on a farm next to the stream, recounts that in 1984 the company dedicated to oil exploitation arrived in his sector and since then, everything changed for the residents of the village who watch with concern how the river threatens them. (…) In a last attempt not to lose a war against nature and the indifference of Ecopetrol, the farm where he was born 69 years ago, Teodosio says he put his case in the hands of the authorities, hoping that entities like Cormacarena and the Mayor's Office of Villavicencio would advocate for his situation and have that wall torn down, but a lot of time has passed in which nothing has happened in his favor.
Colombian Association of Oil and Gas