Is there a relationship between these two facts? (Click images for original sources)
Oil drilling contracting falls 8% in May (year over year)
For the fifth month of the year, a third of the drilling machines were unused, sector statistics show
Despite ending May with 51 exploration wells drilled, which fulfills 37.7 percent of Government goals [of 135] for the year, growing environmental licensing times and the need for companies to optimize their spending has produced a reduction in drill rig contracting, statistics from the Colombian Oil Association (ACP) and Oil Service Chamber of Commerce (Campetrol) show.
…At the end of May, … of 267 rigs registered, which include a range of power ratings, a third are unused while 171 are in use and 6 are in maintenance.
…Campetrol says that among rigs of more than 500 hp, the reduction in contracting is … between 10 and 12 percent…
“This is the lowest level of activity since the end of 2011…”
The ACP says the National Environmental Licensing Authority is nearing a new method of approving small changes more quickly, which will help exploration activity…
And then
Which is to say, Colombia’s oil regulator, after months of being late on its impressive and useful release of oil-related statistics, has stopped publishing them. They now tell people to get the information from the oil ministry, which also doesn’t publish much of the detailed information. Here’s a link to the last release from ANH. Just a few days ago ANH had posted a menu item for 2013 statistics, but it’s gone.
I guess if the numbers don’t look good, best not to publish the numbers, right? That’s the kind of transparency and good government we all want to see.
Setty's notebook 