07 May 2019 
Colombia’s oil reserves are dwindling. President Duque sees fracking as a possible solution.
At least five companies are interested in six fracking blocs in Colombia, and use of the technique could nearly triple the country’s reserves of crude and gas, the energy minister said.
The Andean country does not currently use hydraulic fracturing, known as fracking, but President Ivan Duque favors the technique. Fracking is used to extract oil and gas from unconventional deposits in rock formations that do not allow the movement of fluid.
Duque convened the commission last year to study the technique. The commission’s recommendations are not binding, but are likely to influence future government policy.
Colombia’s Mines and Energy Minister Maria Fernanda Suarez,said she and the environment ministry will study the final recommendations and that while no specific law to allow fracking is required for the use of the technique to go ahead, further regulations are needed.
“Most important is that the only regulation that’s in force refers to the exploration phase, in Colombia we still haven’t developed any regulation for the production phase,” she said.
By the government’s estimates, the use of fracking to extract oil and gas could triple Colombia’s proven oil reserves Colombia’s private oil producers association has said fracking could generate some $500 million per project per year in taxes, royalties, dividends for shareholders and salaries.
Colombia produces about 860,000 barrels per day of crude.
Some local communities and many environmentalists in Colombia are opposed to the use of the technology, and any efforts by the Duque administration to approve it are likely to be met with resistance from left-wing lawmakers in Congress.
Communities in the towns of Puerto Wilches and Barrancabermeja, in Santander province, and San Martin, in Cesar province, must be kept informed as the pilots move forward, the 13-member commission said.
The health of nearby residents must also be monitored and cared for, the commission said.
The proposed fracking concessions also threaten a range of páramo ecosystems, including the Chingaza páramo, a unique water ecosystem that provides the capital city of Bogotá with four-fifths of its water. The Sumapaz páramo, the largest in the world, is also under threat. In other parts of the country, unique wetland ecosystems could also be at risk.
There are also serious question around the competency of the Colombian government to manage or oversee such a project in light of the huge ecological damage caused by mismanagement of the Hidroituango Dam. The National Environmental Licensing Authority has recognised that it does not have the capacity to monitor mega-projects.
https://www.portafolio.co/economia/listas-recomendaciones-para-que-gobierno-defina-el-fracking-526317
