On Tuesday, Colombian Minister of Mines and Energy Tomás
González admitted
to reporters that two hard drives containing confidential and valuable seismic
information belonging to the Spanish firms Repsol and Canacol were stolen from
the National Hydrocarbons Agency (ANH) offices. Reuters noted that the theft
could hurt investors’ confidence at a time when the country is doing everything
it can to boost its oil reserves.
The Minister emphasized that this negligence is totally unacceptable,
but he cautioned that it will be difficult for another company to actually make
use of the confidential information. ANH chairman Mauricio de la Mora told reporters
that the reports “obviously contained very valuable information,” noting that the
reports had cost Repsol $17 million to produce.
Minister González also revealed during the press conference
that the agency had uncovered ten false guarantee policies for concessions
adjudicated between 2008 and 2012. The Minister did not announce the names of
the companies as the investigation is ongoing, but he explained that the
guarantees are not actually backed by the banks that supposedly issued the
guarantees, and thus are false.
In mining-related news, Colombian defense minister Juan
Carlos Pinzón told
reporters that Colombia needs to do all it can to stop illegal mining and money
laundering in the country, as the problem, if left unchecked, could grow to
rival the scope of the drug trafficking industry in Colombia. He noted that the
country’s large drug trafficking organizations are looking to diversify their
profits into alternative illicit criminal activity, such as illegal mining and
contraband goods.
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