2011 scandal involving the mayor of Bogotá, who was suspended and jailed for
allegedly taking bribes to award public works contracts. “The government and
the people are fighting corruption,” he says. “It’s getting better.”
FULLY ENERGIZED
As Colombia’s economy expands, so does its demand for energy.
“Right now, the country relies heavily on hydroelectric power, and there is
an increasing need to provide alternative sources due to the seasonal nature of
hydroelectric power,” Mr. Corbett explains. “There’s a rainy season and a dry
season. The country needs diversified power generation to support hydroelectric
power, especially during the dry season.”
With that in mind, the Colombian government is investing heavily in oil
and gas projects, including the Bicentennial Pipeline, a US$4.2 billion crude oil
pipeline that will be the country’s longest pipeline upon completion in 2016, and
a US$6.47 billion project to expand and modernize one of the country’s largest
oil refineries: the Reficar Refinery in Cartagena.
Exploration is as important as distribution. “Ecopetrol has set a goal to
increase its oil and gas production significantly to 1. 3 million barrels of oil
“Oil and gas companies
especially are very
concerned about security.
They’re in constant contact
with state military forces
about where the guerrillas
are and where they’re
trying to strike. The state
military forces inform companies which areas
are safe to work in and which areas are not.”
—Diego Sánchez Brand, PMP, project manager,
Piping Specialists International, Bogotá
“Most of our oil fields are in areas that people
would not go to in the 1980s and 1990s because
they were afraid they might be kidnapped or
killed. It’s getting better, but there are still some
security risks. To mitigate them, we do social
outreach at the beginning of each project to get
close to the community, to explain what we’re
doing and to let them know we’re going to
contract with local workers. The problems are not
100 percent corrected, but we’re working on it.”
—Rodrigo Vargas, PMP, construction and engineering
manager, Conequipos Ing. Ltda., Medellín
“If you compare crime statistics
in Bogotá with other North and
South American cities, they’re
comparable. Colombia is a
reasonably secure country. If you
have projects in areas where there
are terrorist activities, you
work with local authorities
to identify risks and
make sure there are
good protection
plans in place. It’s
manageable. The
authorities are very
keen to work with
private companies
to help them deal
with security risks.”
—Gary Corbett, PMP, offshore
projects leader,
Ecopetrol, Bogotá
In the first half of 2014, there were 64 FARC attacks on Colombian oil
infrastructure, costing the industry US$460 million in repairs and lost
sales and profits, according to the Colombian Petrol Association. We
asked Colombian project practitioners: How do project managers in Colombia deal with security threats?
Security Alert
“The government
and the people are
fighting corruption.
It’s getting better.”
—Jorge Francisco Henao Pérez, PMP,
Bogotá, Colombia