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Colombia offered 53 exploration blocks to investors in 2021 (Image: ANH)

Ecopetrol CEO says his company is ready

to go to court to enforce its right to explore

FELIPE Bayon, the CEO of Colombia’s national increases in domestic petroleum product prices,
oil company (NOC) Ecopetrol, has said that he and it would almost certainly make Colombia
is ready to push back in the event that left-wing more dependent on imported fuels, he said. It
presidential candidate Gustavo Petro wins the would also deprive the government of the reve-
upcoming election and calls an immediate halt nue stream that Ecopetrol has generated, and as
to new hydrocarbon exploration, in line with his such it would have a significant impact on peo-
campaign promises. ple’s lives, he noted.
In an interview with Bloomberg, Bayon said “Never mind the COP250 trillion [$63.28bn]
that Ecopetrol was not prepared to give up its we’ve given the government in the last decade,”
right to explore its own licence areas, in line with Bayon told Bloomberg. “Look at the people and
the terms of its own contracts. Even if the gov- how they will be impacted in their daily lives.
ernment changes hands and Petro assumes the That’s what people need to acknowledge.”
leadership, he said, the NOC has the option of Colombia is scheduled to hold presiden-
pursuing the matter in court in order to protect tial elections in May. Petro, a former mayor of
its own interests and legal prerogatives. Bogotá who is a member of the Via Alterna
“Our contracts allow us to do exploration for party, is now the top-polling candidate in the
the next 20 years if we want,” he told the news presidential race. He has called for phasing out
agency. “So even if allegedly he can come in and new oil development projects and has called for
change everything, there will be challenges in the formation of a global coalition to fight cli-
the legal system – not only from us, but many mate change.
people.” In an interview with Bloomberg last month,
He did not specify which other parties might he said that if he won the election, he would
join Ecopetrol in challenging any move Petro work to transform Colombia into a country with
might make to halt exploration at previously a knowledge-based and tourism-fuelled econ-
untouched licence areas. However, he did stress omy. This shift would involve calling an imme-
that the NOC was not taking this stance because diate halt to all new oil exploration, he said.
it was insensitive to climate issues. Colombia could continue to develop all
The oil and gas industry does need to pre- of its existing oil and gas fields but would not
pare for a lower-carbon future in which demand explore any new sites or bring any new acreage
for fossil fuels is significantly less, he declared. on stream, he explained.
Even so, he commented, this shift ought to be This would allow the country to make the
“orderly” in nature. Calling an abrupt halt to transition away from fossil fuels over a period of
exploration could lead to sudden and dramatic about 12 years, he stated. ™

P6 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 07 17•February•2022