In the midst of an atmosphere of expectation for not knowing what will happen in the future with the country’s extractive industries and constant calls from analysts and experts for the transition from oil to the use of clean energy to be done gradually, the president-elect , Gustavo Petro, once once more referred to one of the most sensitive issues these days in this matter: the fracking.
Through his Twitter account, the leftist leader – who has never hidden his rejection of this technique– He reiterated that during his government there will be no fracking, in a response to renowned economist Jorge Restrepo.
“There will not be fracking in Colombia”, was what Gustavo Petro said to Restrepo’s questions following the declarations of the announced Environment Minister, Susana Muhamad, who indicated that one of his priorities will be to suspend the pilots of fracking that are already approved.
It should be noted that the oil industry is one of the most concerned following Petro’s victory in the second presidential round. Just look at what’s currently going on with the shares of Ecopetrol that fell from 2,500 pesos and are currently unable to recover, despite slight falls.
“A new devaluation of the Colombian peso today should not surprise: yesterday’s impulse might have come from the declarations of the designated Colombian environment minister that “We seek the closure of the fracking”, Jorge Restrepo said initially.
After his victory in the presidential race, Many sectors have called on Petro not to forget that a large part of the Colombian economy depends on oil and that changing this, without a transition plan, might end up with serious repercussions for the nation’s finances.
Ministry of Energy issued an alert before the intention to stop fracking
The environmentalist and political scientist from the Universidad de los Andes, Susana Muhamad, will be the Environment Minister of the government of Gustavo Petro. Although she has not yet taken office, since she met His appointment has been emphatic in ensuring that he will not allow fracking to take place in Colombia, as Petro promised during his political campaign.
However, it must be taken into account that fracking is already underway in the country, although the drilling stage has still been reached (scheduled for the end of 2022). In December 2020, Ecopetrol and the National Hydrocarbons Agency (ANH) signed a contract to carry out the Kalé pilot, while in June 2021 the contract for Platero was signed.
Additionally, since March of this year, Kalé has had the environmental license granted by the National Authority for Environmental Licenses (Anla), an entity that is also carrying out the respective process for the Platero permit.
With signed contracts in between, stopping the pilots in Colombia would not be so easy. In addition, it must be taken into account that these pilot projects are being carried out following a decision by the Council of State, which authorized their execution in order to assess their viability in the country.
According to the Minister of Mines and Energy, Diego Mesa, if the fracking pilots are stopped in Colombia “there would be a complex legal issue to resolve” because lawsuits might be filed once morest the State, since there are two Special Contracts for Research Projects (Cepis) signed with Ecopetrol and ExxonMobil (United States).
“There is an acquired right on the part of the companies and we have always said that what stands out most to Colombia’s international level is legal certainty and respect for contractual agreements and private property”, he stated.
