The graves public order problems that have been registered in Arauca, Putumayo and Caquetá, led to a drop in preliminary oil production in Colombia during the month of February.
According to the Colombian Chamber of Goods and Services of Oil, Gas and
Energy (Campetrol), is produced 759,900 barrels of oil per day (bpd)a drop of 1.8 percent (13,600 bpd) compared to the barrels that were reported last January (774,000 bpd).
(Also read: Protests and blockades jeopardize key sectors for the country’s economy)
However, in the first two months of the year (January and February) oil production reaches an average of 766,800 bpd, which represents an increase of 3.7 percent compared to the same period last year.
From Campetrol we reiterate the importance of oil, gas and energy in the generation of well-being, economic development and productive chains
Campetrol explained that lower oil production means a significant loss of resources for the Colombian economyin the royalties of the corresponding departments and the negative impact on the workforce of the regions.
During the first three months of the year there have been different incidents and environmental alarms that have led to the suspension of operations in arauca for more than 48 days to date.
In addition, in Meta, Putumayo and Caquetá they have appeared viace in fact in team mobilizations and entry of personnel into operations that have lasted for more than 20 days.
Blocks have increased by about 40 percent between the first half of 2021 and the second half of 2022, resulting in an average of approximately three blockages per day over the past year in operations across the country.
Campetrol also reports a 6.6 percent decrease in natural gas production, which reached 1,008 million cubic feet per day (mcfd) last February. The average for the year is 90 mcfd, which shows a drop of 5.8 percent compared to the same period in 2022.
«From Campetrol we reiterate the importance of oil, gas and energy in the generation of well-being, economic development, productive chains, local labor and energy sovereignty, for which we prefer to continue working together: Government, Industry and Territory in favor of sustainability of the sector”, affirmed Nelson Castañeda, executive president of Campetrol.
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In February there were blockades due to the social protest in Meta.
Courtesy of the Mayor of Puerto Gaitán
Less oil rigs operating
Campetrol also revealed that in February there were 142 active oil rigs, of which 51 were for drilling and 91 for maintenance activities. There was a decrease of seven teams compared to January 2023.
The projection for the months of March (137), April (135) and May (133) is that the downward trend in the number of active rigs continues which started in November of last year.
This is mainly due to the effects on public order that have occurred in departments such as Arauca and Putumayo.
The reduction in the number of active drills and oil production in the country between January and February 2023 was accompanied, according to Dane, by a drop in exports of crude oil and its derivativesadding a total of 1,024 million dollars.