The president of ANDI, Bruce Mac Master, has referred to the decision of a judge that was made known last week and by which Ecopetrol and Petrobras have been forced to immediately suspend the exploration and exploitation of natural gas in the Uchuva-2 well.

The National Association of Industrialists (ANDI), the largest business organization in Colombia, has stated that the country needs regulations in light of the "hundreds" of times that it faces the possibility of being left without a supply of natural gas due to a procedure that seeks to defend the rights of certain minorities.

Specifically, ANDI President Bruce Mac Master referred to a judge's decision that was announced last week and which forced Ecopetrol and Petrobras to immediately suspend natural gas exploration and exploitation activities in the Uchuva-2 well, in the Tayrona Block, in the Colombian Caribbean, which began drilling at the end of June.

This decision, communicated through a ruling on protection, is valid until a consultation process with the Taganga indigenous community is carried out, which must also be immediate.

"This case has been repeated hundreds of times in other projects, facing communities and developers with situations that are very difficult to solve.

For this reason, and to avoid a situation in which prior consultation becomes more than a mechanism for reaching agreement, it becomes one "to generate a toll in favor of a few," ANDI has stated that "there is not the slightest doubt" that regulation of these processes is required.

Energy security is one of the issues that most concerns Colombian businessmen. Recently, Bruce Mac Master pointed out that the country needs public policies to guarantee energy security in the face of the "complex" situations that Colombia will face if it does not take action to achieve energy supply. In addition, the businessman has warned about the "imminent" shortage of natural gas.