ACP as a source of information
GREMIO
Source: La República
Date: September 03
Headline: «We are not thinking of listing on the BVC»
With the pandemic and the price war between Russia and Arabia at the beginning of the year, the production and revenues of oil companies were affected, which has forced them to show their best cards. Richard Herbert, CEO of Frontera Energy, spoke about the current situation of the company, how they are dealing with the crisis, and ruled out, for now, being issuers in the BVC. (…) At the exploration level, we have a portfolio that includes opportunities offshore Guyana, the most prospective basin in the world at the moment, as well as in Ecuador and Colombia in the Meta, we are aiming for greater development in the Magdalena Medio and other areas of the Llanos. (…) Additionally, we accelerated the tax refund processes for about US$35 million, we received US$13.5 million in dividends from the ODL pipeline, and we are working closely with our main suppliers to extend certain accounts payable for the second half of 2020 and the first half of 2021.
Source: El Nuevo Siglo
Date: September 03
Headline: The oil sector had the worst quarter in history between April and June
Between April and June of this year, the oil sector recorded the worst quarter in its history, according to the reported figures. During the second quarter of 2020, national oil production averaged 757,800 barrels per day, a year-on-year decrease of 15.7%. Likewise, in the second quarter, an average of 43 active rigs was recorded in Colombia, lower than the average of 137 rigs in the same period of 2019. As of July 2020, a total of eight exploratory wells have been drilled, a decrease of 70.4% compared to the accumulated total for the same period in 2019 (19 wells). (…) The president of Campetrol, Germán Espinosa, said in an analysis that “when at the end of the first quarter of 2020, the Colombian economy went into quarantine due to Covid-19, no one imagined the scenario that this would entail. (…) On the other hand, Ecopetrol's net profit suffered a year-on-year contraction of 99.3% during the second quarter of 2020.
Source: Dinero
Date: September 03
Headline: Delayed privatizations
In the Medium-Term Fiscal Framework, the Government plans to obtain $12 billion from divestitures in 2021. However, the consulted analysts do not see that plan as clear. On one hand, they think that the expected amount is very high, and it has already been made clear in the past that this type of process takes time. On the other hand, they point out that partially selling large companies like Ecopetrol or ISA takes time because someone may challenge the divestiture process.
Source: Dinero
Date: September 03
Headline: What is happening with the stocks?
Regarding the dollar, Colombia does not register the highest devaluation in Latin America; it is at the average. But in the stock market, it ranks as the worst performer in the region. (…) The second is that, unlike other Latin American countries, Colombia has not had an extra boost. This could be a rise in oil, as has happened with other commodities like copper and silver. (…) Stocks not recommended. (…) Ecopetrol. The risk of lower demand for oil due to the current situation is still present. This has affected its revenues.
Source: Vanguardia Liberal
Date: September 03
Headline: With 95% of local labor, a mega road project was executed
A total of 247 workers, out of the 260 who participated in the execution of the La Virgen road interchange of the Gran Vía Yuma, represented local labor. (…) It was done with very high standards of quality and safety, it has cost us just over $32,000 million and connects with the Ruta del Cacao and the Troncal del Magdalena Medio. It is a project that makes us proud and is for the entire community,” said the leader of Projects of the Central Regional of Ecopetrol, Luis Cáceres. As Ecopetrol explained, this project will improve the heavy cargo traffic that arrives at the Oil Port, as it will save 28 kilometers of travel. Now, the process of formalizing the delivery of these road sections to the Concessionaire Ruta del Cacao through the National Infrastructure Agency (ANI) is coming.
Source: El Heraldo
Date: September 03
Headline: It is cynicism. By: Roberto Zabaraín
“For the right to a decent job,” read the banners of the strikers from Cerrejón. Decent job? What a bold-faced lie! This is not an ordinary claim. It is about the sector being taken over by the destabilizing left. Is this the first step of the plan for uprisings that they have organized for the post-pandemic with a view to creating chaos? Will the USO come next? Decent job? Just as oil and coal are the main lines of the national economy, the workers of Ecopetrol and Cerrejón are the ones with the best salaries, benefits, the best conditions, and job stability. Are they asking for a decent job? It is an outrageous cynicism in the midst of so much informality and so much unemployment. (…) The new technologies for obtaining alternative energies limit the commercialization of oil and coal over time, condemning our resources that are the basis of the economy to remain buried. This needs attention and drastic measures must be taken.
Source: El Diario
Date: September 03
Headline: Camilo Marulanda López. By: Lisandro René López Martínez
With great satisfaction, I write today's column to celebrate the city's decoration in the Grade of Founders to Camilo Marulanda López, who has developed an important career at the national level. Camilo, very young, was appointed Executive Vice President of ECOPETROL, later Executive President of CENIT, and currently President of ISAGEN. An unrepentant reader, a lover of his family, the city, and the coffee landscape.
Source: caracol.com.co
Date: September 03
Headline: Approved project that regulates the General System of Royalties
After several sessions, the Senate Plenary approved in the final debate the project that regulates the General System of Royalties and the way resources will be distributed in hydrocarbon and mineral producing and non-producing municipalities. The initiative allocates more resources for the poorest regions of the country. (…) During the discussion, the elimination of article 210 was approved, which had generated controversy because, according to some sectors, it gave the green light to fracking in Colombia. «The controversial article on unconventional deposits has been eliminated, and now we only have to approve the reconciliation. We hope it will be a process that goes through without major difficulty.».
Source: Llano 7 Días
Date: September 02
Headline: Knowing the biodiversity in Meta
In order to combine technical, administrative, and financial efforts to strengthen the planning and management capacity of knowledge and biodiversity for the department of Meta, Cormacarena and Ecopetrol entered into a collaboration agreement. This agreement seeks to strengthen the generation of information that allows for the characterization of biodiversity and ecosystem services in the jurisdiction of Cormacarena and areas of interest of Ecopetrol S.A. According to the following scopes: 1. Analysis of the dynamics of change in natural forest cover associated with the Orotoy, Guamal, Humadea, and Ariari rivers, in the high areas of the municipalities of Guamal and Cubarral.
Source: Llano 7 Días
Date: September 02
Headline: Spill of Naphtha
In the municipality of Acacías, a gasoline spill occurred over the weekend on Montebello sidewalk. Ecopetrol and the authorities are seeking to mitigate the environmental impact that this situation may bring.
Source: Q Hubo Cartagena
Date: September 02
Headline: They scam with job promises
In a recent event, it was reported that unscrupulous individuals are using an old method to deceive the unsuspecting with job promises. This time they are using the image of Ecopetrol to make calls and demand money for the payment of courses, medical exams, or COVID-19 tests. The company reported the incident warning citizens not to fall for these traps set by the cunning. According to Ecopetrol, criminals create fake profiles on social media and emails using the company's name to promote job offers, request resumes, and summon them in cities different from their residence, to be part of the supposed personnel selection process.
Source: Javeriana Estéreo
Date: September 02
Source: Caracol TV
Date: September 02
Source: elespectador.com
Date: September 02
Headline: Completion of the La Virgen interchange construction in Magdalena Medio
Ecopetrol reported that it has completed the construction of the La Virgen interchange, which is part of the Vía Yuma project and facilitates vehicular traffic towards the Ruta del Cacao and the Troncal del Magdalena Medio. This work has 15 kilometers of dual carriageway and is located at kilometer 8 on the road that leads from Barrancabermeja to Bucaramanga. (…) “As executors of the Vía Yuma project, we are satisfied with the progress of the work thanks to the joint effort of all the entities that contribute to its construction to make this common dream of providing Barrancabermeja with a road system that allows communication with the Ruta del Cacao and the Troncal del Magdalena Medio a reality, which contributes to improving the competitiveness of this important region of the country,” concluded Jürgen Loeber, vice president of projects and drilling at Ecopetrol.
Source: semana.com
Date: September 02
Headline: Uribismo demands an explanation from the Government about planned privatizations for 2021
The Democratic Center presented a statement in which they support the budget proposal for the next year. They believe it is appropriate to sell the part of Ecopetrol that is authorized, but they raised other concerns. The General Budget for 2021, which has a projected figure of 314 trillion pesos, with which it seeks to finance state expenses at a critical moment, is about to receive one of the approvals that Congress must give: the approval of the amount. (…) It is timely to privatize Ecopetrol. Clearly, with state-owned companies, Ecopetrol is a major concern in Colombia, which has been authorized, since 2006, to sell 8.5 percent of its shares. For the Democratic Center, «it is timely for Ecopetrol to be capitalized for the remaining 8.5 percent authorized by Law 1118 of 2006 (which would amount to about 8.1 trillion pesos), under conditions that give more participation to cooperatives, associations, and small owners, who would join the 521,700 shareholders that exist today.».
Topics
Source: La República
Date: September 03
Headline: Announcement of the arrival of companies from the U.S., but no names are given
The paralysis of businesses, the high unemployment rates, and the loss of production in the country due to the pandemic have focused the National Government's attention on increasing foreign investment. And as the first step of the strategy, four new decrees were announced aimed at promoting tourism, the shipbuilding industry, electronic invoicing, and mega-investments. (…) The figures behind foreign investment in Colombia. There is an initiative to attract US$11.500 million a year in foreign direct investment not related to hydrocarbons.
Source: Portafolio
Date: September 03
Headline: Two sides of the coin
Two recent news items, published in this newspaper and separated by a day, reflect the two sides of what it means to develop large infrastructure projects of all kinds in Colombia. The first article focuses on the concentration in the Caribbean Coast of an important block of mining-energy projects that are part of the National Government's economic reactivation plan. Since January 2021, and for a period of five years, this northern region of the country would witness and benefit from several initiatives in renewable energies, electrical transmission, oil and natural gas blocks onshore and offshore, and the expansion of the largest refinery in the country. (…) The next day, on the same pages of this newspaper, information was recorded about a letter from the Attorney General's Office requesting the suspension of nine wind farms in La Guajira for “violating conventional and constitutional norms regarding prior consultation with indigenous and tribal communities.”.
Source: Portafolio
Date: September 03
Headline: Promigas donates supplies in campaign
In support of the campaign «I raise my voice for Barranquilla,» Promigas joins this effort by donating 15,000 face masks to highlight the benefits that this presents as an essential preventive measure.
Source: El Nuevo Siglo
Date: September 03
Headline: Fracking
The representative for Boyacá, César Pachón, from MAIS, expressed that «those who thought the ‘profiling’ of opponents was nonsense are now angry with me because I disclosed information about who refused to remove the ‘mico’ from fracking.».
Source: El Pilón
Date: September 03
Headline: ‘We have not voted in favor of fracking’: Salazar and Moreno
Some political groups claim that representatives José Eliecer Salazar, Cristian Moreno, and Alfredo Cuello approved an article to reduce to almost half the royalties that these oil extraction projects would pay in order to “provide legal security” to the oil companies applying this technique in Colombia. Representatives José Eliecer Salazar and Cristian Moreno stated that they have not voted in favor of fracking as some political groups have shown through social media, asserting that they approved an article to reduce to almost half the royalties that these oil extraction projects would pay in order to “provide legal security” to the oil companies applying this technique in Colombia.
Institutions
Source: Portafolio
Date: September 03
Headline: Anla and its new attention center
The Anla will open an Orientation Center, which will allow for the submission of information, consultation of files, receipt of notifications, and inquiries about processes and services.
Source: semana.com
Date: September 03
Headline: The controversial article on fracking that was dropped in the Senate
For several days, several congressmen had reported that the project of the General System of Royalties had a «monkey» that would give a free pass to this activity in the country. On Wednesday, the article was sunk with 44 votes. (…) The warning about the inclusion of this article was made by Senator Jorge Enrique Robledo of the Polo Democrático, who denounced in mid-August the inclusion of an article in the Royalties Law that was being processed in Congress, which would favor the implementation of fracking in Colombia. «The article states that the previous regulations (Law 1530 of 2012) will remain in force for contracts, agreements, and contractual figures entered into by the National Hydrocarbons Agency (ANH) before the issuance of this law and will continue to be in force for those contracts that the ANH signs within the framework of pilot projects for comprehensive research of unconventional deposits,» Robledo said at the time.
Source: rcnradio.com
Date: September 03
Headline: The ‘monkey’ on fracking falls and the royalties law passes in the final debate
The Senate eliminated the controversial article that, according to some senators, legalized this practice in Colombia. The plenary of the Senate approved in the final debate the bill that regulates the new General System of Royalties and changes the way resources are distributed to the regions of the country. The discussion of the initiative was framed amid a strong controversy over an article that, according to the majority of congressmen, opened the door to legalize fracking in Colombia. (…) Senator Alexander López said that this is a defeat for the Government, which despite promising not to promote fracking, had introduced this article that was considered by some as a “monkey.” (…) The intervention of the Minister of Mines, Diego Mesa, could not convince the parliamentarians. According to the government official, the eliminated article did not allow for the implementation of fracking in the country.
Source: ecosdelcombeima.com
Date: September 03
Headline: Jaime Yepes and Ricardo Ferro: Are they the Tolima congressmen who support fracking?
The congressmen are part of the list of 92 who support a proposed article to reduce royalties that extraction projects would pay to the regions. The House of Representatives on August 28 sank the initiative to eliminate a controversial article that seeks to largely reduce the royalties that fracking projects would pay and provide legal security to oil companies that apply this technique in Colombia. (…) “The first paragraph of article 14 of Law 1530 of 2012 will remain in force for contracts, agreements, or contractual figures entered into by the National Hydrocarbons Agency before the issuance of this Law that grants them a current right for the development of Unconventional Deposits. Likewise, it will remain in force for those contracts, agreements, or contractual figures that the National Hydrocarbons Agency signs within the framework of the development of the Comprehensive Research Pilot Projects – PPII in unconventional deposits.”.
Source: pulzo.com
Date: September 03
Headline: ‘Fracking’ was buried again with the elimination of the royalties law article
With a close vote of 44 to 39, the Senate plenary eliminated an article that many labeled as a ‘mico’ to authorize that practice. The intervention of the Minister of Mines, Diego Mesa, was of no use, who, according to RCN Radio, unsuccessfully tried to argue that the intention of Article 210 of the project regulating the General System of Royalties was not to endorse the exploitation of unconventional deposits. “Here, no type of activity is being authorized or prohibited. The only thing the article did was provide clarity and correct that discount granted in Law 1530 of 40% to the exploitation of unconventional deposits, and it is said that in the future a full royalty will be paid,” assured the minister, quoted by that station.
Colombian Association of Oil and Gas