ACP as a source of information
Source: La Libertad – Regional
Date: May 19
Headline: Unions ask Congress not to approve the «Clean Slate» project»
Twenty-six of the twenty-seven unions that make up the National Guild Council, with the exception of Acopi, expressed their concern and warn of the adverse effects that the initiative currently in Congress would generate for the national economy and the well-being of citizens, which aims to modify the current data protection regime established in Law 1266 of 2008, known as clean slate. (…) It adds that “The difficult situation the country is experiencing forces us all to act with a great sense of responsibility and only with more and better information can this crisis be managed better.” The statement is signed by: Acolfa, ACM, ACP, Acoplásticos, Analdex, Anato, Andi, Andesco, Asobancaria, Asocaña, Asocolflores, Asofiduciarias, Asofondos, Asomovil, Camacol, Colombian Chamber of Infrastructure, Colfecar, Confecámaras, Cotelco, Fasecolda, Fedegan, Fedepalma, Fenalco, Fenavi, Naturgas, SAC. It was replicated in: diariolalibertad.com (May 19).
GREMIO
Source: La República
Date: May 20
Headline: Avianca's stock fell 38% after announcement of its exit from Colcap
After just over a week since the airline Avianca voluntarily filed for Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code in the Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York, the effects of this decision are still being felt in the local stock market, where the company's stock price fell 38% in one day. (…) Among the stocks that could enter Colcap after the rebalancing are ETB, Terpel, and Bolívar. In contrast, the stocks that could exit due to their loss of liquidity are Éxito, Promigas, and Mineros. (…) Current colcap basket for the quarter. Ecopetrol: 14,33%
Source: La República
Date: May 20
Headline: Companies add Fitpal Home for employees
The company that allows access to a wide network of gyms in the country through subscriptions, Fitpal, is now providing a new service to companies so that their employees receive different offers for virtual classes that help them get through confinement in a healthier way. (…) Among the companies that have already joined the initiative are Ecopetrol, Roche, Cerrejón, Mattel, and PMI, which have stated that this benefit has helped employees during quarantine as it reduces anxiety levels.
Source: La República
Date: May 20
Headline: Partial solution for ethanol but with debts
It was about to be two years since the Federation of Biofuels of Colombia (Fedebiocombustibles) filed a complaint and request to the Ministry of Commerce, which sought to impose compensatory measures on ethanol arriving in the country from the United States. (…) According to Fedebiocombustibles' calculations, this corresponds to the equivalent of a tax rate of 13% for U.S. ethanol. However, it should be noted that the guild, in its initial request, demanded that measures of 22.5% be applied. The problem is that for the national industry, that level was necessary and, after hearing its objections, it is clear that there was a partial solution for Colombian ethanol, but debts remain. And there have already been losers. While the Government defined the compensatory measures, the agro-industrial sector began to feel the crisis. One of the first victims of this trade dispute was Ecopetrol. At the beginning of March, its subsidiary Bioenergy had to enter a reorganization process in the Superintendency of Companies.
Source: La República
Date: May 20
Headline: ‘I see no reason to cancel investments’
In the first quarter of 2020, ISA reported an increase of 14% in operational revenues and that net profit rose to $378.507 million. Although the company was not affected by covid, it does project that, in a bad scenario, 20% of the investments for this year would be postponed, but none canceled. This was assured by Bernardo Vargas Gibsone, president of the company, who expressed in Inside LR that they always seek to invest and look for new projects in the countries where they have a presence. (…) Would the economic emergency reactivate the sale of ISA? I am not the one selling, it is the owner (Government), I am an administrator. What I have heard in the press that Minister Carrasquilla has said is that there has been no thought of selling assets, be it Ecopetrol or ISA.
Source: La República
Date: May 20
Headline: The U.S. threatens sanctions against Repsol for presence in Venezuela
The United States has threatened “devastating sanctions” against the Spanish oil company Repsol and other companies that pump oil in Venezuela and sell it in the international market. “There have been no exceptions for Chevron, nor for any company in the world,” said the director for the Americas of the U.S. National Security Council, Mauricio Claver-Carone, in statements to the television channel NTN24, according to ‘El Mundo’. In addition to Repsol, the Italian ENI and the Indian Reliance are currently operating in Venezuela. Claver-Carone has assured that the White House is informing these companies that they must leave the country. “We have shown those three companies what has happened with Rosneft Trading. Obviously, the sanctions for those three companies would be devastating, and it is not what we would want to happen,” he added.
Source: Portafolio
Date: May 20
Headline: Arturo Calle adapts to the crisis
The brand Arturo Calle will develop fabric face masks and a collection of clothing with fluid-resistant technology for daily use during these times when people seek to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. This was revealed to Portafolio by Carlos Arturo Calle, general manager of the Business Group, who talks about the company's operation and acknowledges that the organization will take advantage of the payroll subsidy offered by the Government to protect the 6,000 jobs it generates. (…) What is the alliance with Ecopetrol and Bio Bolsa? Driven by the desire to help, we made this alliance with Essentia and Bio Bolsa to manufacture 147,000 medical clothing kits. The input and production costs were donated by Esenttia, from Ecopetrol. The material was processed by Bio Bolsa, a producer of reusable bags, which transformed it into 330,000 meters of non-woven fabric, which reduces the possibility of contagion for healthcare personnel.
Source: El Colombiano
Date: May 20
Headline: Ecopetrol helps national suppliers
A mechanism to alleviate the financial situation of about 1,508 local goods and services suppliers has been implemented by Ecopetrol. This benefit covers micro, small, and medium enterprises that provide their services to the company in different regions of the country. According to Colprensa, it will remain in effect until June 8.
Source: RCN Radio.
Date: May 20
Headline: A new attack is recorded on the Trasandino pipeline in Nariño
Source: prensalibrecasanare.com
Date: May 20
Headline: Ecopetrol provides advances as relief to small and medium suppliers to face Covid-19
Occidental de Colombia reported that the person who tested positive in a Covid-19 contagion test days ago, and who provides services to the Caño Limón oil field, received a negative result in a second test, the result of which was announced last Saturday by the Special Administrative Unit of Health of Arauca, UAESA. “We are pleased to confirm the good health status of the employee of our contracting firm (Sodexo), of his family, of his coworkers, and of the hotel staff. We also thank UAESA for the diligent management it undertook to apply new tests to all the people who were at the hotel, ruling out that there is another case of coronavirus contagion among them,” said Ed Hanley, President and General Manager of Occidental.
Source: prensalibrecasanare.com
Date: May 20
Headline: Second laboratory test ruled out Covid-19 in Oxy employee in Arauca
Occidental de Colombia reported that the person who tested positive in a Covid-19 contagion test days ago, and who provides services to the Caño Limón oil field, received a negative result in a second test, the result of which was announced last Saturday by the Special Administrative Unit of Health of Arauca, UAESA. “We are pleased to confirm the good health status of the employee of our contracting firm (Sodexo), of his family, of his coworkers, and of the hotel staff. We also thank UAESA for the diligent management it undertook to apply new tests to all the people who were at the hotel, ruling out that there is another case of coronavirus contagion among them,” said Ed Hanley, President and General Manager of Occidental.
Topics
Source: El Espectador
Date: May 20
Headline: Trump and Colombian supporters. By: Juan Pablo Ruiz Soto
The public policy and citizen behavior that Colombia has implemented to date to face COVID-19 are good and have generated results. (…) The automotive sector is not the only one. A study by Harvard Law School and Columbia University generated a chart with 64 environmental rollbacks that Trump has made and another 34 that are in process (The New York Times, May 6, 2020). Trump says they are unnecessary and costly regulations, and deregulates aspects related to climate and environmental policies, especially with the fossil fuel industry. Standards on pollutants from coal-fired power generation, dumping of mining waste into water sources, licenses for oil and gas exploitation, and reduction of wilderness areas, among other issues, are weakened.
Source: El Nuevo Siglo
Date: May 20
Headline: Anticipate appreciation of private debt securities
The management of private debt in the country has shown diverse behavior, according to the analysis of Alejandro Aparicio Huertas, an expert from BTG Pactual. He points out that among the economic aspects to consider is that “after a devaluation due to the coronavirus and the price of oil in the early days of March, private debt in Colombia has undergone very strong corrections, driven by the purchase by the Bank of the Republic of $10 billion in private debt securities up to 3 years, and by the reduction of the reference rate to 3.25%.” He argues that “this has generated a lower stock of debt in securities of up to 3 years, as well as the decrease in the rates of savings accounts of institutional clients that cause these resources to be directed to private debt securities or short-term investments in investment funds.”.
Source: El Colombiano
Date: May 20
Headline: 2,1 %
…the price of Brent crude oil rose during yesterday's session. It closed at $32.51 in the New York market.
Source: El Colombiano
Date: May 20
Headline: Standards. By: Felipe Arroyo Mesa
Remarkable and mediocre at the same time, many say. The first is largely explained by the correct handling of circumstances that the authorities have given to the economy, just to say that we are the only country that has not experienced economic decline (including the GDP report for the first quarter of 2020, with the context of the global pandemic), since the crisis of 1999. The roles of the Ministry of Finance and, more so, the Bank of the Republic in fiscal and monetary management have been remarkable, and this goes beyond political spectrums; the same macroeconomic indicators show us that even with volatility over the years, the trend has been towards growth, being so dependent on variables like oil or lately on domestic demand.
Source: Vanguardia Liberal
Date: May 20
Headline: Fracking and transition to renewable energies. By: Jairo Puente Bruges
John D. Rockefeller founded the Standard Oil company in 1870 (precursor to ExxonMobil and others), considered for many years as the largest oil company in the world. (…) The fact is that -in recent years- alarming economic results have been reported for oil companies. For example, an article from The Guardian (April 25/20) is titled: “The U.S. fracking boom wobbles as global prices and demand collapse.” And another (May 14): “U.S. oil and gas companies often had financial problems long before the coronavirus economic crisis, and now many are seeking taxpayer help to cushion their fall. Many independent drillers were already mired in debt from chasing the fracking boom.” The economic problems of oil companies worsened with the coronavirus, but they started earlier.
Institutional
Source: El Diario
Date: May 20
Headline: Service Stations call for stabilization of gasoline prices
Service stations are another sector affected by the Coronavirus crisis, as with the mandatory isolation measure during the first month, many vehicles stopped circulating on the city streets and the authorized ones were not enough to cover the fuel supply and thus generate income. (…) This is why a letter was sent from the trade association to the Ministry of Mines and Energy to regulate this situation through a floor price for fuels and thus guarantee financial sufficiency to service stations and achieve that many of these businesses, which belong to families and by tradition, can continue operating.
Source: las2orillas.co
Date: May 19
Headline: Very unlucky
Finally, a woman reaches the vice presidency of the country and we have a gender-balanced cabinet, but what we are seeing is that their actions are far from the minimum desirable. When in a country like Colombia women still have glass ceilings that hinder our careers; when those who do not experience open and blatant machismo suffer from violence and micromachismo, that dismissive chuckle from our colleagues, and when changes are finally seen, it is painful that their results are dismal. Finally, a woman reaches the vice presidency of the country and we have a gender-balanced cabinet, but what we are seeing is that their actions are far from the minimum desirable. The costs will be infinite because after this step forward, many steps back will come. (…) Of course, there are exceptions: the Minister of Mines is a serious and prepared woman just like the Minister of Education, but these two do not manage to cover the immense shortcomings shown by the other women in the cabinet.
Colombian Association of Oil and Gas