So far in 2018, there have been 13 attacks by the Eln against the Caño Limón – Coveñas and Trasandino pipelines. In 2017, there were a total of 63, noting that in the last three months there were no attacks thanks to the bilateral ceasefire between the Government and that guerrilla, as confirmed by the Crudo Transparente observatory.
According to Ecopetrol, due to the attacks suffered by the Caño Limón – Coveñas in Norte de Santander, Arauca, and Boyacá, the transportation of oil through the entire pipeline has been suspended since January 10, which today marks 37 days without operation.
Calculating daily losses due to terrorism is complex, but in 2017, due to the attacks by the Eln on national oil infrastructure, the country ceased to produce 1,667,160 barrels. Considering that the average daily production that year, according to the National Hydrocarbons Agency, was 853,000 barrels, the damage would be equivalent to shutting off the taps of all oil wells in Colombia for two days.
In plain terms, Colombia stopped receiving 266,287 million pesos in oil production (based on figures from the Energy Information Administration), not counting the expenses incurred by Ecopetrol to address the damages caused by the explosives. Additionally, it must be considered that from the profit that would remain from those resources for the oil companies, between 65 and 70 percent would reach the National Treasury in the form of taxes, royalties, and dividends.
The effects of the attacks on oil infrastructure are not only economic. Ecopetrol told EL COLOMBIANO that “in the Catatumbo region, the explosions of the pipeline have caused spills into streams, creeks, and rivers. Furthermore, ecosystems where more than 20 species of mammals, 30 of fish, 15 of reptiles, and 20 of amphibians live have been put at risk.”.
They are becoming fewer
Although since January 10, 2018, when the bilateral ceasefire between the Government and the Eln expired, the guerrilla group has launched attacks and perpetrated 13 attacks in one month, it is a practice that has been decreasing, considering that, according to the Colombian Petroleum Agency, in 2013 there were 228 attacks against pipelines.
Part of the decrease in those figures is due to the exit of the Farc from the conflict and the dialogue table in Quito, Ecuador. In fact, the Center for Resources for Conflict Analysis, Cerac, stated that during the three days of the armed strike, between February 10 and 13, “no effective attack against oil infrastructure was recorded, and there were ten cases of actions against crude oil transportation infrastructure that did not result in damage.”.
However, every time there is an attack, the ecosystem and the pockets of all Colombians suffer.
Colombian Association of Oil and Gas