Page 6 - LatAmOil Week 50 2019
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US VIRGIN ISLANDS LatAmOil
Freepoint and ArcLight also provide this type of fuel to Puerto Rico.
In the first nine months of 2019, they sup- plied the US island territory with a total of 15,425 bpd of LSFO, including 4,486 bpd from Argentina and 3,055 bpd from Brazil.
USVI has been importing fuel oil to cover local demand at least since 2012, when the St. Croix refinery was shut down by Hovensa, its previous owner. Hovensa declared bankruptcy in 2015 and later agreed to sell the oil-processing plant to Freepoint and ArcLight.
Colombia wants Drummond
to suspend fracking at La Loma field
COLOMBIA
Colombia’s highest administrative court, the Council of State, has ordered Drummond, a US-based coal-mining company, to suspend hydraulic fracturing operations at the La Loma field.
On December 13, the court ruled that Drummond had violated Colombia’s existing moratorium on fracking by using the technique for something other than a pilot project. It also instructed the National Hydrocarbons Agency (ANH) and the Ministry of Mines and Energy to oversee some of the company’s operations at La Loma.
The court’s decision won applause from local environmental groups, including the Colombia Free of Fracking Alliance. Carlos Andres Santi- ago, a spokesman for the alliance, said that judi- cial authorities had effectively maintained a ban on the commercial use of fracking.
“This makes it clear that even if there is an open door to pilots because of the decision taken several months ago, the regulation remains sus- pended and no type of activity related to the exploration or exploitation of non-conventional depositscanbedeveloped,”hesaidinamessage sent to journalists.
As of press time, Colombian authorities had not responded to the court’s decision. When
contacted by Reuters, ANH said that all ques- tions should be directed to the Ministry of Mines and Energy. In turn, the ministry told the news agency that it had no immediate comment on the matter.
Similarly, Drummond has not spoken pub- licly since the court issued its order.
Fracking has been a contentious issue in Colombia. Environmental advocates have urged the government to impose a complete ban on the practice, while the national oil company (NOC) Ecopetrol has said that the technology could help unlock the country’s unconventional hydrocarbon reserves.
The government, for its part, has sought to find a balance. It sympathises with Ecopetrol because it sees fracking as a means of boosting crude oil and natural gas production, which will in turn generate badly needed revenues. But it is also keen to avoid protests and unrest of the type that might occur if it dismissed environmental groups’ arguments.
As such, it has acted to order a temporary suspension in fracking. In September of this year, the Council of State carved out a few exemptions, saying that pilot projects were acceptable if their developers met the relevant preconditions.
Critics of fracking have voiced concerns about environmental risks (Photo: Esperanza Proxima)
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w w w . N E W S B A S E . c o m Week 50 19•December•2019
