What can we glean from mainstream media reports about Canadian corporations involved in the oil and gas sector in Colombia?

What can we further discern about the companies that may have some involvement with the fracking pilot projects expected to start soon in that country?

Additionally, what impact might their business activities have on human rights, the environment and the peace process in Colombia?

Canacol Energy Ltd. is a Canadian gas and exploration company that was founded by CEO Charle Gamba in 2008 and is traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange. The company’s head office is located in Alberta, Canada however its extractive projects and operations are carried out in resource-rich Colombia. On their corporate website, Canacol outlines their broad mandate and highlights their commitment to corporate responsibility.¹

The company claims to:

Two Canadian mining companies are invoking the Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement, signed in 2008, as a means of extracting US $1 billion from the government of Colombia. The government’s crime: having had the temerity to protect its water resources while not doing enough to repress demonstrators.

Since February 15, 2017, communities in the municipalities of Yopal and Aguazul, in the department of Casanare, peacefully gathered and blocked a road opposite the oil block project El Porton, run by the Canadian oil company Gran Tierra. Since the beginning of the mobilization, social leaders have received threatening calls, have been followed by different vehicles and three have been charged for obstructing the transit way.

Regional Context