The Business Year

Search
Close this search box.
With Colombia becoming an important player in oil, mining, and emeralds, the respective industry associations seek to work closely with all the stakeholders to gain more value and share of the market.

Juan Camilo Nariño Alcocer

President, Colombian Mining Association (ACM)

All stakeholders need to work together in order to establish a bigger and stronger mining sector in Colombia. In the past, it was probably the most important sector in Colombia. Our first message was that we need to work together with all companies in order to have a better and stronger sector in the future. In the last three years, we have improved the regulatory framework to ensure stability in the sector. We have been discussing the balance between agriculture, tourism, and mining in order to create a new and more stable regulatory framework that attracts FDI. In the past, public consultation was a major issue but under the current constitution, municipalities can mine with public consultation and any kind of town hall agreement. We have to establish a new law in Colombia in order to coordinate with municipalities to advance mining activities. We have been working hard with the government, congress, and municipalities on this new law. Besides the law, which is necessary, we need a new public policy in order to promote exploration. Countries such as Chile, Peru, and Mexico represent around 30% of FDI in Latin America, whereas only 1% ends up in Colombia. As a country, we need to promote high-potential sectors such as mining to attract for FDI.

Germán Espinosa

Executive President, Colombian Chamber of Oilfield Services (Campetrol)

2019 was the starting point for the reactivation and recovery of the oil and gas sector in Colombia. This means we will likely see the results in the coming five years, considering all the investments we have made for the long term. That aside, production will grow in a short period of time. In fact, in 2019 we had an average of 886,000bpd compared to 865,000 in 2018. We hope to reach 900,000bpd in 2020. This means a growth of around 4-5% for each of the last four years. Another factor is we are improving rig count activity in the country. We finished 2019 with around 139 oil rigs working in Colombia, which represents about 93% of the record in October 2014. All this increased activity will bring new contracts, which is always a great indicator of how the country is performing. In 2019, we had more than 30 new E&P contracts, which is great news for the country. This is a permanent process of assigning blocks, and there are two routes to follow in this regard. One is the blocks that the National Hydrocarbons Agency (ANH) will submit, and the other is the oil and gas industry itself. In fact, in 2019 we had purchasing rounds, in May and November-December.

Guillermo Galvis

President, Guillermo Galvis

2018 was the second series of the Emerald Symposium because there were many developments around the world. Our basic idea was to work on standardization and harmonization while transforming the emerald industry into a consumer-oriented activity. For that, we brought together retail such as LVMH, Cartier, and Dior, as well as regulators such as RGC, OCDE, and other global associations. Apart from promoting Colombian emeralds, our main goal is to establish the next generation of standards and initiatives around the world. In fact, internationally, our natural recognition stems from the premium product we have positioned to become industry leaders. Around the industry, leaders and managers have been studying our market to better understand how Colombia relies on a socially responsible supply chain to create value. We have two primary targets: our internal market, which requires that we maintain and improve the investment environment to attract new companies; and our export market, which requires us to keep improving our branding and positioning. It is important to recognize the huge strides we have achieved. Although the average emerald export value around the world is USD3-5 per carat, Colombian emeralds are valued at USD100 per carat.

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

You may also be interested in...

Screenshot 2024-02-13 at 09.49.26

COLOMBIA - Economy

Germán Alberto Segura

Interview

General Manager, Corredor Empresarial

CO24_IT_ AVAYA_PIC Cesar Rodriguez

COLOMBIA - Telecoms & IT

César Rodríguez

Interview

Director Andean Region, Avaya

SUMITOMO

COLOMBIA - Industry

Takahiro Saito

Interview

President, Sumitomo Corp

View All interviews

Countries

Countries

Become a sponsor