- Oil producers can pay only 50% of their fees in May and June. The remaining 50% will be financed with a two-month grade period.
- This relief is not subject to a condition of minimum volumes or certain oil prices.
- This incentive is in addition to the commercial fee discounts offered by the transportation Companies to the clients since early April.
Bogotá, 29 April 2020. In order to mitigate the impact of the crisis derived from the abrupt drop in oil prices and the COVID-19 pandemic for oil production companies operating in Colombia, Cenit Transporte y Logística de Hidrocarburos S.A.S. and its subsidiaries announced the financing of up to 50% of the crude transportation fees in their pipelines during the months of May and June 2020, with a grace period of two months.
This measure is framed within the current regulation, and it implies that oil producers will pay half of the rates during the months of May and June, will then have a grace period in July and August, and will begin to pay the other half as of September 2020. This aid is not subject to minimum invoiced volumes or certain oil prices, thus becoming an important cash-flow relief for oil producers and traders.
«Although this situation also impacts the midstream segment because of the lower volumes transported through the systems after the drop in demand, we are convinced that it is necessary to support producers and shippers in general with financing initiatives so that Colombia’s hydrocarbon industry continues to be a lever for the country’s economic and social development,» said Hector Manosalva Rojas, CEO of Cenit, an Ecopetrol Group.
These new commercial terms apply to Oleoducto Central S.A. (OCENSA), Oleoducto de Colombia S.A. (ODC) and Oleoducto de los Llanos Orientales, S.A. (ODL), Cenit subsidiaries.
Cenit CEO stated that this measure is an additional relief to the proposals made in early April, when commercial discounts were offered on transportation fees, which remain in force for the producers who chose that alternative.
For the payment facilities to apply, it is necessary for the senders to sign the corresponding commercial agreements.