Colombian government to slash taxes on oil industry

On Monday, Colombian Minister of Mines and Energy Tomás González said in a press release that the government would give a 25 percent income tax break and an exemption from VAT and customs charges for contracts related to certain offshore Colombian oil blocks. González explained that the government is taking these steps in order to drive greater interest in investing in the promising potential of Colombia’s offshore oil deposits in the Caribbean.

This move by the MEM has been long awaited by expert observers in the Colombian oil industry, who have been clamoring for the Colombian government to do whatever it can to stimulate investment in the sector. Colombia is running out of oil, and at a time of depressed oil prices, the country needs to do everything it can to grow its oil industry.

The oil crisis has also affected the many thousands of Colombians who work in the oil industry. Beleaguered Canadian oil company Pacific Exploration & Production was mentioned by Colombian daily El Espectador as one of three companies that will soon fire a massive number of its Colombian employees, along with Hyundai and Archies. The article shows that the pains experienced by the Colombian oil industry are also being shared by the many thousands of Colombians who work in the industry.