Cenit and its affiliates launch up to 50% relief on pipeline transportation fees for oil producers

This Cenit release was published using machine translation.

Bogotá, April 29, 2020. In order to mitigate the impact of the crisis derived from the abrupt drop in oil prices and the covid-19 pandemic in the oil producing companies operating in Colombia, Cenit Transporte y Logística de Hidrocarburos SAS and its subsidiaries report that they will finance up to 50% of the crude oil pipeline transportation rate during the months of May and June 2020, with a two-month grace period.

The measure, which is in the framework of the existing regulation, implies that producers would pay half the rate during May and June, then they will have a grace period during July and August, and they will start paying the other half from September 2020. Aid is not subject to the condition of minimum invoiced volumes or a certain price of oil, which constitutes an important relief for the cashier of producers and traders.

“Even though this situation also impacts the midstream segment due to the lower volumes transported through the systems due to the drop in demand, we are convinced that it is necessary to support producers and senders in general with financing initiatives so that the Colombia's hydrocarbon industry continues to be a lever for the country's economic and social development, ”said Héctor Manosalva Rojas, president of Cenit, a company that is part of the Ecopetrol Group.

These new commercial conditions apply to Oleoducto Central SA (OCENSA), Oleoducto de Colombia SA (ODC) and Oleoducto de los Llanos Orientales, SA (ODL), affiliates of Cenit.

The president of Cenit stressed that this measure is an additional relief to the proposals that were previously made in early April, when commercial discounts were offered on the transport rate, which continues to apply to those senders who chose this alternative.

For the payment facilities to be applicable, the sender must sign the corresponding commercial agreements.