Page 7 - LatAmOil Week 39 2021

LatAmOil COLOMBIA/NICARAGUA LatAmOil

Maritime border as set by ICJ in 2012 (Image: ICJ)

Officials in Managua argued that Bogota had of nearly 2bn barrels of oil. In recent years the
accepted the ruling regarding a cluster of Colombian government has been trying to boost
islands but not a larger demarcation of maritime the country’s stagnant oil sector by modifying
boundaries between the two nations. Last week, contractual terms and reducing bureaucracy.
Colombia said its ships were sometimes to be To this end, it awarded 31 contracts to oil
found in the disputed area, in line with interna- and gas companies in 2019, before the advent of
tional law, and that they were necessary for envi- the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. These
ronmental preservation and other international contracts are expected to bring in around $2.7bn
affairs. Both sides will be able to respond to each in investment to the industry over the coming
other’s arguments during hearings scheduled to years. Frontera Energy and GeoPark, both of
take place before October 1. Canada, along with the national oil company
Colombia is the fourth-largest crude pro- (NOC) Ecopetrol, have been among the winners
ducer in Latin America, with proven reserves of Colombian auctions in recent years. ™

VENEZUEL A
Interest in Venezuela’s defaulted bonds

picks up following refinery stake swap

INTEREST in Venezuela’s defaulted bonds is Most of the transactions are being arranged
reportedly rising as traders bet that the decision by European funds ready to assume high risks,
of the government of President Nicolas Maduro the news agency added.
to swap a stake in the Refidomsa refinery in the The price of bonds from state-owned oil pro-
Dominican Republic is a sign of more deals to ducer Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) have
come. jumped by 17% in the last month, Bloomberg
The volume of bonds being traded is still noted. Even so, it said, these securities are still
small, as the sanctions regime imposed by for- going for well below market level, for around
mer President Donald Trump limits US inves- $0.0525 on the dollar.
tors’ ability to buy the notes. Even so, whenever Meanwhile, it said, Venezuela’s sovereign
these securities go on the market they are usu- bonds are commanding a price that is around
ally bought up quickly, according to a Bloomb- 20% higher, at $0.11 on the dollar, the report
erg report. said, citing brokers and term sheets.

Week 39 30•September•2021 www. NEWSBASE .com P7