Colombia consumes one third of the petroleum it produces, and yet Colombians are paying prices as if the country were heavy importers said Senator Luis Fernando Velasco.
“We Colombians are being charged for gasoline as if we import it, when in fact we are producing 900,000 barrels a day and of this we only need 300,000 for internal consumption.” Velasco said in an interview with Caracol Radio Thursday, adding that the price of gasoline made from Colombian petroleum must be lowered.
“I am not asking for gasoline to be subsidized. Each gallon is worth less than $0.90 a gallon to Ecopterol [the state-run petroleum company] but Colombians end up paying almost $5. At the end of the year, each time we fill the tank with gasoline, 38% will go to private hands because 30% of Ecopetrol is in privately owned, and the 8% which is ethanol will also go to private hands.”
Velasco’s proposal to develop an internal tariff on fuel to alleviate monthly price hikes was included in the National Development Plan that passed the round of debates in the House of Representatives on Wednesday,