Ecopetrol reported in early July 2020 that it has signed a preliminary agreement with supermajor ExxonMobil to form a JV to conduct pilot fracking projects in the Middle Magdalena Basin. The agreement is subject to the final approval of new regulations for unconventional exploitation which are expected in the coming weeks. "Ecopetrol would be the operator of the pilot projects, contributing with [our] experience in this region", the statement from Ecopetrol said and continued "the agreement would also integrate ExxonMobil's advanced technology and extensive global experience in developing unconventional resources". ExxonMobil has already shown an interest in Colombia's unconventional reserves in the VMM-2 and VMM-37 blocks in the Middle Magdalena Basin. The company exited VMM-2 in 2016, but currently holds the rights to the unconventional formations (La Luna Formation and below) in the VMM-37 Middle Magdalena Basin Block. The company farmed in for 70% WI in November 2012 and agreed to pay the costs of three Phase I wells, one of which, Manati Blanco-1, was drilled in 2015. The licence was considered as suspended by the ANH for a while in mid-2017. The Council of State has also prevented hydraulic fracturing with a moratorium in 2018, which was upheld in September 2019 for existing licences and activity. Only investigative pilot projects are allowed.Ecopetrol stated that both companies will "respect the regulations and protocols established by the National Government, the recommendations made by the Commission of Experts and the provisions of the Council of State". There has been a lot of opposition from local community groups, environmentalists and some members of congress, with the main concern that fracking poses a threat to the water supply and also concerns that there hasn't been enough community consultation. A group of 20 members of congress and the Alianza Colombia Libre de Fracking (Colombia Fracking Free Alliance) group filed a case with the Council of State upon the reopening of the courts on 1 July 2020 to suspend all fracking initiatives claiming that the government is not complying with the conditions given by the High Court to advance the PPII. The action filed 6 points where they claim Decree 328 does not comply with these conditions (see related article for more information).The second deadline expired on 1 July 2020 for comments and observations on the 32-article draft agreement of contracting regulations for Integral Research Pilot Projects (PPII). This incorporates the rules that allow carrying out the PPII on unconventional reservoirs into Agreement 2 of 2017. The purpose of these contracting regulations is to establish the conditions for determining and delimiting the areas, the selection of contractors and the special contractual terms for the execution of Research Well Projects, in development of PPII. This outlines the legal, financial and technical criteria for operators including things such as obligations, guarantees, economic rights, monitoring procedures and contractual control, among others, in accordance with the regulations contained in Decree 1073 of 2015, added by Decree 328 of 2020. These regulations are planned to be finalised and issued in the next few weeks by the Ministry of Mines and Energy and according to the head of the Agencia Nacional de Hidrocarburos (ANH), Armando Zamora, contracts will be awarded in September or October 2020 for the fracking pilot projects. He also said that "an environmental licensing [process] will begin at the end of the year and that will determine, depending on whether the conditions exist, if it is feasible to do the pilots". PPII have been proposed in Northern Colombia by companies such as ExxonMobil (Puerto Wilches, Santander department), Ecopetrol (Barrancabermeja, Santander), ConocoPhillips (San MartÃ­n, Cesar), Drummond (Rancheria, Cesar) and Parex. On 28 February 2020, the Colombian Government set out its guidelines for the PPII on unconventional depos
(Middle Magdalena B.) Ecopetrol reported in early July 2020 that it has signed a preliminary agreement with supermajor ExxonMobil to form a JV to conduct pilot fracking projects in the Middle Magdalena Basin.