LatinNews Daily - 6 September 2024

*Colombia’s state oil company, Ecopetrol, has begun halting production at its Caño Sur oilfield in Puerto Gaitán municipality, in the central department of Meta, which normally produces 45,000 barrels of oil per day. In a statement, Ecopetrol said that it is also preparing to imminently halt production at four other oilfields in the eastern department of Arauca and in the Magdalena Medio region, which spans several departments in central and northern Colombia. Ecopetrol said that it was responding to “roadblocks which are impeding normal operations in various parts of the country” – a reference to protests by truck drivers against the recent cut to diesel subsidies, which have coincided with a string of attacks on oil pipelines in the east of the country and the occupation of a natural gas plant run by Ecopetrol in Norte de Santander department. Ecopetrol said that “with the increase in roadblocks, the recent attacks on the Caño Limón Coveñas and Bicentenario pipelines, and the seizure of the Gibraltar gas plant, conditions in the hydrocarbon production and supply chain are growing more complex, creating serious difficulties for the delivery of fuels to their point of sale”.