According to Colombian business journal Portafolio,
the Colombian Ministry of Mining and Energy agreed
to include within the National Development Plan proposals to characterize
small-scale mining as part of the formal economy of the country. With that
concession, the leaders of the National Confederation of Colombian Miners,
Conalminercol, decided to end
the strike that had started last Wednesday.
This however does not mean the end of negotiations;
conversations will continue this week and next to decide on exactly what
proposals will make it into the National Development Plan. The Colombian
government also left
no doubt that it will continue to crack down on illegal mining, differentiating
between informal and illegal mining.
In news related to the Colombian oil sector, Colombian state
oil company Ecopetrol announced
on Monday its updated proven reserves of hydrocarbons, which rose 5.7% from the
end of 2013 to the end of 2014, to 2.08 billion barrels of oil equivalent
(boe). While this is good news for the oil company, but does not necessarily
mean any relief for Colombia, which is in dire need of new proven reserves in
order to avoid becoming a new importer of oil.
The collapse in global oil prices also created a record
trade deficit for Colombia in 2014, and forced
Colombia’s government to delay $2.44 billion in government spending,
corresponding to 3% of the national budget.
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