According to Colombian authorities, FARC guerrillas forced
19 oil tanker truck drivers to dump their crude oil cargo onto the ground. The
government worries
that the oil could contaminate
local water supplies in the region of Puerto Asis in southwestern Colombian
department of Putumayo. Putumayo governor Jimmy Diaz made the first
announcement in an interview with RCN Radio, while the Colombian defense
ministry tweeted that “This damages our natural resources and the community.”
News reports noted that this attack is part of a recent
spate of attacks by the FARC against Colombia’s oil industry. The FARC had
almost halted its attacks while engaged in peace negotiations with
representatives of the Colombian government, but it appears that the leftist
terrorist organization is once again targeting the country’s oil infrastructure
to put pressure on the government in the negotiations.
In other oil-related news, Colombian daily El
Espectador reported that the agreed-upon sale of Pacific Rubiales Energy
Corp. to the Mexican company Alfa SAB and Houston’s Harbour Energy Ltd. could
be in jeopardy. The news report added that this is a very risky sale, as
Pacific’s share price has fallen by almost 10% in the last two weeks, making
the announced sale price a 14% premium on the actual share value, the most
expensive large oil company acquisition, according to data from Bloomberg.
El
Espectador also reported on the latest moves made by Colombia’s oil and
energy companies in the country’s “llanos.” Ecopetrol is focusing on increasing
its drilling in Meta’s Castilla and chichimene oil fields, while also cutting
its expenses by 31%. Ecopetrol Vice President José Cotello asserted that the company’s
ambitious drilling plans demonstrate its commitment to generating employment in
Meta despite the oil crisis. Meanwhile, Canacol Energy and Pacific Rubiales are
just focusing on cutting costs to keep their operations profitable.
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