On Tuesday, Bloomberg
reported on Colombia’s faltering oil production. According to Francisco
Lloreda, the president of the Colombian national oil association, the number of
exploratory wells drilled in 2015 fell 80% over the previous year, down to just
19 wells. Lloreda predicts that Colombian oil production will, in 2016, begin
missing its target of 1 million barrels per day.
Bloomberg noted that the main oil companies in Colombia,
including state-owned oil company Ecopetrol and the Canadian Pacific
Exploration & Production Corp. have slashed exploration investment because
of depressed global oil prices. Lloreda called on the Colombian government to
lower its taxes on oil revenue, arguing that the rates are uncompetitive in
comparison to other countries.
In other oil-related news, Pacific Exploration denied
reports from earlier in the week that it would engage in massive layoffs in
June 2016 once its contract to exploit the Rubiales oil field expires. Pacific
vice president Federico Restrepo explained that the company would instead seek
to transfer the employees over to the new operator of the oil field, out of
respect for their labor rights.
Lastly, fuel production finally started
at the newly expanded Cartagena oil refinery. EFE noted that the refinery is
the “most modern oil processing facility of its kind in Latin America.” Starting
Tuesday, Ecopetrol’s refinery began producing diesel, petroleum naphtha,
liquefied petroleum gas, and jet fuel. The refinery expects to raise production
from its current total of 90,000 barrels per day to 165,000 bpd by March 2016.
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