RE:RE:Colombia's output will drop by 20%Concur, Deadcow. According to that report, the government will take measures to assist the producers. The government also sees more consolidation in the sector by year end. See these excerpts from Bloomberg:
Options include easing investment costs and reducing the amount of oil that goes to the government as a royalty, said Nicolas Mejia, vice president for promotion at Colombia’s hydrocarbons agency. Proposals put forward by several consultancies will be discussed at a Jan. 27 meeting with government ministers. Companies are calling for more favorable terms,” Mejia said in an interview Thursday in Bogota. “We need urgent and immediate measures to counteract the fall in oil prices". Other options are likely to include lowering a fee tied to the price of oil and a reduction in per-hectare charges, Mejia said. If approved, the measures would benefit producers including state-owned Ecopetrol. Colombia is keen to avoid fines for companies that fail to meet contractual obligations for exploration investment and sees consolidation in the industry before year-end, Mejia said. As part of its longer-term strategy to boost the flagging sector, the hydrocarbons agency is promoting a legislative change that would give landholders a percentage of oil and gas produced. Similarly, any change to the amount of royalties producers pay to the government would have to be approved by Congress. “If communities and landowners feel like stakeholders it will greatly reduce the social problems across the regions,” Mejia said. “The blockades will disappear.” BLOOMBERG LINK about This News