ACP as a source of information
Source: BLU Radio – National
Date: May 14
Source: bluradio.com – National
Date: May 14
Headline: Oil companies are struggling with transportation costs: Francisco Lloreda
“We have been several years with exploration stagnant,” said the president of the Colombian Petroleum Association on Mañanas BLU. The president of the Colombian Petroleum Association (ACP), Francisco Lloreda, spoke on Mañanas BLU about the difficult moment of the sector and about the timelines for its recovery. “The costs of operating in Colombia are very high, among them due to the high cost of transporting oil to the port. This is one of the factors that most affects the country's competitiveness,” Lloreda stated. According to the president of the ACP, the crisis is also related to low exploration. (…) “In the last year, important efforts have been made for exploration, but the truth is that we have been several years with exploration stagnant. We had times when we had more than 130 exploratory wells a year, which was very important. In the last three, four years we have been averaging between 50, 55 exploratory wells,” he declared.
Source: bluradio.com – National
Date: May 14
Headline: May 14, 2020 – Mañanas BLU, with Camila Zuluaga, full program
In such a complex and diverse country, we must listen to those who have no voice, speak clearly about the most complicated issues. Relive the full program here. (…) Likewise, we talked with the president of the Colombian Petroleum Association (ACP), Francisco Lloreda, about the difficult moment of the sector and about the timelines for its recovery.
GREMIO
Source: El Tiempo
Date: May 15
Headline: The labor market and basic income
“A new disease, whose name perhaps some of those reading me have not yet heard, but of which you will hear a lot in the coming years, is technological unemployment.” John M. Keynes. The most influential British economist in economic policy after World War II, recognized as the savior of capitalism after the Great Depression that left millions of people unemployed, 25 percent in the United States and 30 percent in Europe, was referring to another disease different from covid-19 that today strikes the entire world: “technological unemployment” caused by the discovery of means to economize the use of labor and replace it with machines. (…) It should be noted that a renegotiation of salaries and wages can be proposed especially at high executive levels, high Government, parliamentarians, control agencies, judges and magistrates, chambers of commerce, Ecopetrol, Banrepública, among others, seeking that in no case these exceed 20 times the minimum wage.
Source: Vanguardia Liberal
Date: May 15
Headline: Innovate 2020
Today you can connect to the launch of ‘InnóvaTe 2020: Generating Value’, an open innovation initiative by Ecopetrol and Unired. The broadcast starts at 9:00 a.m. and you can watch it on Ecopetrol's Facebook.
Source: Vanguardia Liberal
Date: May 15
Headline: Campaign
The Police of San Vicente de Chucurí, the Mayor's Office, Ecopetrol, the National Army, merchants, and the community in general joined to carry out the social campaign called ‘We are one, we are all, against COVID-19’. According to reports, this initiative seeks for the community to donate the largest amount of basic family basket products to be delivered to the most needy families in the municipality.
Source: Vanguardia Liberal
Date: May 15
Headline: Construction project of the PTAR awaits green light
Awaiting approval regarding the comprehensive action plan that meets biosecurity protocols in light of the coronavirus pandemic is the construction project of the San Silvestre PTAR. The crisis generated by the coronavirus put the vast majority of projects that were in process in Barrancabermeja on ‘pause’, if not all. (…) As will be remembered, the execution of this mega project will be carried out with resources provided by the District Administration, Ecopetrol, and Aguas de Barrancabermeja, who contributed a total amount of $ 181.898.155.141.
Source: vanguardia.com
Date: May 15
Headline: New test for man who arrived from Bogotá to Santander came back negative for COVID-19
This person, a member of a contracting firm, had entered on May 5 without the respective permits to the Oil District and had tested positive for coronavirus. The official stated that “this second test was conducted at the Ecopetrol laboratory, due to suspicion of low viral load. Additionally, seven more tests were conducted on the same number of people who were part of the epidemiological fence, which also came back negative for Covid 19.” For his part, the Secretary of Health of Barrancabermeja, Luis Fernando Castro, assured that “we want to give that peace of mind to the city that at this moment we have zero positive cases of coronavirus.”.
Source: prensalibrecasanare.com
Date: May 15
In the Plenary of the Chamber, the araucano Representative to the Chamber, José Vicente Carreño Castro, denounced that an employee of a subcontractor company of OXY in Arauca, went on leave to his place of residence in Villanueva (Santander) and before returning by land in his vehicle, did not take the time to get tested for Covid-19. According to the araucano politician, the oil worker went to get tested in the capital of Arauca - staying two weeks in a hotel while waiting for the result - with the misfortune that this test came back positive. (…) The leader demanded that oil companies adopt strict biosecurity measures to prevent the entry and spread of Coronavirus in Arauca, considering that this unfortunate case was a direct responsibility of OXY, which could have been avoided by establishing a protocol regarding the entry and exit of their employees - including those of subcontractors.
Source: prensalibrecasanare.com
Date: May 15
Ecopetrol announced that it will finance and execute two projects in the department of Casanare under the ‘Works for Taxes’ modality, which consist of the improvement of 8,771 meters of footprint plates in Aguazul and the provision of school furniture in educational institutions in 11 municipalities of the department, for a total value of $27.322 million. Both projects are part of a package of 13 initiatives that were approved to the Ecopetrol Group by the Agency for the Renewal of the Territory (ART), the National Planning Department (DNP), and the Ministries of Transport, Housing, and National Education.
Source: radionoticiascasanare.com
Date: May 15
Headline: With the payment of income tax and complementary taxes; they finance projects in Casanare
Through resolutions 197 and 204 of 2020, the Agency for Territorial Renewal approved the linking of the payment of income tax and complementary taxes for the taxable period 2019 of the company Ecopetrol S.A, to two investment projects worth more than 27 billion pesos that will be carried out through the “Works for Taxes” payment mechanism. According to ART, the two projects correspond to the “Provision of School Environments and Student Residences to be developed in the municipalities of Chámeza, Hato Corozal, Maní, Monterrey, Paz de Ariporo, Pore, Recetor, Sabanalarga, Támara, and Tauramena,” for a value of $8.301.178.177. (…) This result is achieved thanks to the joint work carried out by Governor Salomón Sanabria, Senator Amanda Rocío González, and Ecopetrol, to access resources that allow leveraging investment initiatives in road infrastructure and the education sector, in different municipalities of the department.
Source: radionoticiascasanare.com
Date: May 15
Parex Resources Colombia Ltd Branch, as an ally of the regions since the beginning of operations in Casanare, has been advancing a process of participation and labor linkage with SENA apprentices in technical and administrative functions within the organization. The alliance has generated significant benefits for the students of this Institution that builds the country through the real transformation of knowledge and in that sense, understanding the importance of supporting students and their families in this health emergency generated by COVID-19, Parex delivered 111 food packages consisting of more than 40 basic products from the family basket.
Source: pacocol.org
Date: May 15
Headline: Duque prepares labor package against Colombian workers
The Duque government has declared a new economic emergency. In decree 637 of May 6, the measures that the government will take via express are announced, consulting only with bankers and large national and foreign entrepreneurs: privatizations, labor reform, tax reform, environmental licenses, reform of royalties, flexibility of direct contracting, and a few subsidies. (…) The difference with this package, this time, is that under the pretext of the coronavirus pandemic crisis, the government has found the most expedient way to carry it out, which is the authoritarian method of economic emergency, in which for 30 days it has the authority to issue legislative decrees, without going through Congress or social and union consultations. Thus, in the matter of privatizations, Ecopetrol would be selling 8.5% of the shares or the golden egg subsidiary Cenit, the company that manages the oil pipelines.
Topics
Source: La República
Date: May 15
Headline: Oil companies may not recover from the crisis
An analysis by Bloomberg agency highlighted that the national oil industry could face a series of long-term problems due to high production and transportation costs in its development. The study noted that, while prices could recover in the medium term, issues could arise because there are small operators who would not withstand the situation. This would mean, according to the agency, that a quarter of the production could be lost and there would be recovery in 2021.
Source: La República
Date: May 15
Headline: Dollar strengthens due to fear of a longer recession
At the end of the day, the dollar reached an average price of $3.947,80, which represented an increase of $46.5 against the Representative Market Rate (TRM), which stood at $3.901,3. (…) On the oil prices side, the Brent barrel rose US$1,94 or 6,7%, closing at US$31,13. Meanwhile, the WTI barrel gained US$2,27 or 9% and closed at US$27,56. Commodity prices rose after U.S. oil inventories fell by 745,000 barrels and the International Energy Agency (IEA) projected lower global stocks in the second half of the year. According to the IEA, oil demand will see a record drop this year, but global stocks would also fall by about 5.5 million barrels per day in the second half of the year.
Source: La República
Date: May 15
Headline: Dow Jones, Nasdaq, and S&P 500 closed in green
Wall Street closed with most of its indices in green. For example, Dow Jones ended the session with a rise of 0.481%, the Nasdaq composite rose 0.911%, and the S&P 500, 1.151%, according to Bloomberg. The advance recorded by the U.S. indices was due to the rebound presented by banks and oil companies. According to Reuters, “oil prices rose after a decline in inventories in the U.S. and forecasts from the International Energy Agency of lower global stocks in the second half.” These announcements led Brent to close the day at $31.37 per barrel and WTI to finish at $27.79. “Prices have risen slightly in the last two weeks because many countries relaxed restrictions,” added Reuters.
Source: La República
Date: May 15
Headline: No to oil in the Amazon. By: Harry Giovanny González García
Last year, when wildfires ravaged millions of hectares in the Brazilian Amazon, and deforestation grew in our country, President Duque led the signing of the Leticia Pact for the Amazon, which he recognized as “…a land that is vital for the harmony of the environment across the planet.” (…) For the second time in the processing of this initiative, the majorities of the First Commission of the House supported our proposal to prohibit oil exploitation in the Colombian Amazon. The idea led by the Liberal bench managed to move forward with the vote in favor of congress members from the Green Party, Party of the U, Radical Change, Polo, and Farc, managing to surpass the colleagues from the Democratic Center and the Conservative Party who opposed it in an intense debate. No to oil exploitation in the Amazon is our slogan, with a transition regime that respects the acquired rights of companies authorized to carry out exploration activities, and those with valid exploitation contracts, with no room for renewal.
Source: Portafolio
Date: May 15
Headline: Pandemic would erase almost 2 points from GDP in the first quarter
The forecasts that looked promising for this year were left behind since the arrival of the pandemic and the uncertainty of its duration. The coronavirus caused most economic activity sectors to close their operations since March 25, the day the mandatory national quarantine was declared. (…) Although this decision only managed to catch five business days of the third month of the year, analysts' forecasts for the gross domestic product (GDP) of the first quarter were reduced on average by 1.91% due to the crisis, which has also been compounded by low oil prices.
Source: Portafolio
Date: May 15
Headline: And then what. By: Rodolfo Segovia
The economic devastation caused by the containment of covid-19 will bring more deaths than the pandemic, as multiple analysts have pointed out. Extreme poverty is skyrocketing, while the middle class is sliding into hardship. (…) Many doors are closing to Colombian products, not to mention the long-lasting crisis of oil and coal. To those holes in the trade balance, we must add the fall of remittances, foreign investment, and the once-bright star of tourism.
Source: El Colombiano
Date: May 15
Headline: Oil recovers after inventory drop
AFP stated that prices rose after an “unexpected drop in crude reserves in the United States” was confirmed, even though there is a better outlook due to economic reactivation. WTI for June rose 9.1% to $27.56; and North Sea Brent ended at $31.13 with a rise of 6.6%.
Institutional
Source: Vanguardia Liberal
Date: May 15
For those voices against fracking, it is regrettable that, in the context of the isolation due to COVID-19 that forces communities to stay at home, the Government announces that it has the draft of the technical regulation ready, which establishes technical guidelines for the development of the Comprehensive Research Pilot Projects, PPII, in Unconventional Reservoirs, YNC. The Socio-environmental Program of the Podion Corporation also warns about the possible socio-environmental impacts that the implementation of this technique will have in the country and especially in the Magdalena Medio. (…) It is important to clarify that one of the technical parameters included in the draft technical regulation of the Ministry of Mines and Energy is that it should not be fractured less than 500 meters from an aquifer or a populated center.
Source: hablemosdemineria.com
Date: May 15
Headline: Gas imports increase in Colombia.
Natural gas imports have been gaining ground in the country, and to date they would practically be close to 40% of the national supply. (…) 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 that recorded in February 2020 (1,143 mpcpd). The fields that reported lower fuel production were Chuchupa and Ballena (Guajira), Cusiana, North Cusiana, Pauto Sur, and Cupiagua (Casanare), Clarinete and Pandereta (Sucre), Gibraltar (Norte de Santander), and Palmer (Córdoba).
Colombian Association of Oil and Gas