On Sunday, Colombian daily El
Tiempo reported on a new dimension to Colombia’s oil crisis. Colombian
state-owned oil company Ecopetrol and Colombian oil sector officials are deeply
worried about the ongoing shutdown of the Caño Limón-Covenas pipeline. The oil
pipeline was originally shut down in the wake of a FARC bombing several months
ago, but bringing the pipeline back online has proven to be much more difficult
than was originally expected.
Repair technicians have found additional damage to
subterranean sections of the pipeline, which will need to be repaired before it
can be reactivated. As a result, oil production in the Colombian department of
Arauca has been completely halted since the end of June. The total amount of
oil production lost because of the delay comes to 65,000 bpd, according to
Francisco José Lloreda, president of the Colombian Petroleum Association (ACP).
In other oil news, El
País reported on the free-falling price of oil, wondering whether the price
of oil could possibly fall all the way to $30 per barrel. Rubén Darío Lizarralde,
president of the oil sector trade association Campetrol, warned that although
everyone hopes that prices will not go below $40 per barrel, Colombia needs to
reduce its oil dependency.
In mining-related news, El
Espectador interviewed Robert Murray, Murray Energy CEO and the new owner
of Colombia Natural Resources. Murray stressed that he believes that only the
lowest cost producers can be competitive in the global coal markets, and CNR
will pursue that very strategy in Colombia.
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